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"You wanna go to the arboretum with me?" Buck asks one morning as they're changing into their civvies after shift.
"Sure." Eddie shrugs, because it's Buck asking.
"What about Chris? You think he'll wanna go?" Buck finishes lacing his shoes.
"Buck, he's fifteen. I'm sorry, but he definitely doesn't want to go." Eddie's all done, so he slings his duffel over his shoulder.
"Oh," Buck deflates a bit, grabbing his own bag. "Can you, can you ask him, you know, just in case?"
"Yeah, Buck. I'll ask him."
They walk out of the station together and then go their separate ways for their 24 off.
…
Eddie doesn't ask Chris. It's not that he doesn't want to spend time with Chris—he does!—it's just that he wants some one-on-one time with Buck. And if he's really honest, if he digs down deep, he knows Chris does want to go to the arboretum, even if Eddie himself barely wants to go. It's just…one of those things you do for love.
Chris is out, Eddie texts Buck one day into their next 96 off.
Hypothetically, Buck could text Chris at any point. He could have asked Chris himself. But he didn't and he probably won't. Buck trusts Eddie, even if Eddie's maybe telling a white lie at the current moment. It's just a little white one, anyway.
Buck sends back a :(—the emoticon, not the emoji—because he's an old man, but Eddie is endeared regardless. Then, another text comes in. Next time, maybe?
Precious how hopeful he is.
I'll try to convince him, Eddie shoots back.
Arboretum opens at 9. Pick you up at 8 tomorrow?
With coffee? Eddie texts hopefully.
Eddie gets a 🫡 back.
…
Chris is at school so there aren't any questions for Eddie when Buck shows up. It's a Friday, and Eddie relishes when time off aligns with a weekend. It means he'll get to spend it with Chris as long as Chris doesn't beg off to spend time with friends, which he definitely is doing a lot more frequently these days.
Buck always gets Eddie a caramel latte because it's the only sugary coffee drink Eddie will cop to liking, but he always gets himself something special.
"What'd you get today?" Eddie asks as he slips his tennis shoes on.
"It's called Summer Breeze. It's a latte—oat milk, of course—with a bunch of syrups in it. I think it's like lavender and coconut and something else, like hazel nut maybe?" Buck explains, spinning the cup so Eddie can see the little bunny someone doodled on it in sharpie.
"Can I try it?" Eddie ventures, feeling bold.
"Sure!" Buck says brightly, handing the cup over immediately. And god damn. The sip is heavenly.
"Jesus," Eddie says.
"Don't like it?" Buck asks with puppy dog eyes. "It's okay. It's probably too sweet."
"No, Buck. It's delicious."
"Oh," Buck is legitimately surprised. "Yeah." He takes the sweating cup back. "It's pretty good. Seasonal. I've been getting it like once a week the past few weeks."
Eddie takes a sip of his own coffee. It's way more boring comparatively, now that he's tasted the sweet ambrosia that is Buck's coffee.
"That's awesome, Buck. Get me one too, next time."
Buck smiles all sunny. "Sure thing!"
"Thanks, man," Eddie says, smiling back as he slips his sunglasses on over his eyes and grabs his keys out of the bowl.
Eddie's not driving, of course. That's what he's got Buck for. Obviously.
Well, Buck seems to like doing it anyway.
They're about halfway to the arboretum in Arcadia, when Eddie blurts it out. "Buck, do you like driving?"
Eddie can see Buck blinking in surprise behind his own sunglasses. "Um," he says, pausing to consider. "That's complicated, I guess. Why?"
"I let you drive me around a lot, I guess. I was just wondering if you actually like doing it, or—" He doesn't actually let himself finish the thought.
Buck sighs, checking his rearview and then fixing his eyes back forward. There's an orange Kia making some questionable maneuvers a few cars in front of them and Buck is maintaining a healthy distance.
"I lived out of my car for a couple of years. Or, well, you know, the Jeep I got from Maddie. I did a lot of driving all over the country, so I got used to it, I guess? And then, Los Angeles requires a lot of driving too. So, I don't know. I like it in that I like the autonomy, the freedom to roam, but do I physically enjoy the mechanics of driving? Not especially. But I also know you like it better when I drive."
It's trust. Eddie trusts Buck with his life, puts his life in Buck's hands every time he climbs into Buck's Jeep and lets his best friend chauffeur him around the City of Angels.
"I like it when you drive," Eddie admits. That's all his willing to admit right now. "Thanks for doing it."
"Any time, bud," Buck snorts a laugh.
A song Eddie doesn't really know but has heard Buck listen to a lot and he's pretty sure is by Fall Out Boy is playing from a Spotify playlist, and when they lapse into silence, Buck can't seem to help himself singing along. It's endearing.
…
Eddie's never been to the arboretum before, but it's just south of the San Gabriel Mountains in the valley.
They buy their tickets, and the first thing Eddie notices is peacocks with their full plumage strutting around the grounds, occasionally shuddering their whole bodies, and then letting out a squawk that Eddie is a bit shocked to find out a peacock makes.
"Did you know they sound like that?" Eddie whispers conspiratorially to Buck, making eye contact with one of the suckers as it strides toward them.
Buck chuckles at him. "Yeah, Eddie. I knew they sound like that. It can be a little jarring at first. I get it."
"Jarring. Yep," Eddie agrees. "Have you been here before?"
"Once," Buck admits, looking up from the paper map he'd swiped at the ticket counter. "Way back when I first moved here. Took a date here, but it was so hot and I was sweating so much and didn't know where I was going that it's more like a fever dream than a memory."
Eddie tries to conjure up Buck as he was back then, twiggy and douche-baggy slicked back hair, kind of an idiot, trying to impress some faceless girl by taking her here. It stings, weirdly. He doesn't like the idea at all. Not as his eyes land on Buck as he is now, settled in his body, broad and loose with his curls unrestrained. Eddie has the sense that this is the real Buck, that Eddie has the privilege to know this version.
"Sounds like a disaster," Eddie says, nonchalant. He's so, so, so nonchalant. The most nonchalant you can imagine.
"Guess it all worked out in the end, anyway," Buck shrugs. "I still randomly follow her on Instagram. She got married recently. On the beach. It was pretty."
Oh god. Buck sounds wistful. Does Eddie need to marry Buck on the beach? Wait. What?
Just past the entrance pavilion, as they break out onto the tarmac path, girls in big shiny dresses are taking pictures of each other in the grass. It's May, so it must be prom season, Eddie figures, though it seems like these girls are skipping school to be here and take these pictures. He doesn't begrudge them, though, because the place is beautiful even before they get into it properly. And there's this hush over the gardens. It makes the place feel like a bubble of a fairy forest or something.
"Okay," Buck keeps his voice low just like everyone else around them. "We can go right toward Africa and Australia, or we could go left toward Baldwin Lake." He traces over the paths with his finger.
Eddie peers over his shoulder as they amble slowly down the path, bumping together the way they always do.
"Usually, I would say left, but looking at this map, it looks like all the best stuff is over to the left, so we should save it for last, right?"
Buck's eyes, sparkling and clear, are on Eddie, a sunshine smile spreading over his face. "I love that idea."
So, Buck directs them over toward the carnivorous plants. And yes, Buck reads off all the signs, adding his own tidbits of knowledge here and there as they go.
It's almost half an hour later when they loop back out toward the fountain, water shooting up into the sky with the mountains blue and hazy in the distance. Eddie's feet stop him without consent from his brain. Buck's a few steps ahead before he realizes Eddie's not with him.
"Eds?" He calls, turning back around.
"It's just so…" he doesn't have the words. It just. Nice.
"Want me to take your picture?" Buck asks, already pulling out his phone.
Eddie hesitates. Sure, he'd like a picture of himself, but he wants a picture with Buck more.
"Uh, sure," he says instead of asking for what he wants. Eddie doesn't ask for what he wants.
Buck stuffs the paper map into his back pocket and starts taking some candid photos of Eddie before Eddie can even get into a position or smile. But Buck is cheesing so hard, squatting a little and making camera shutter noises with his mouth that Eddie can't help but laugh at him. He hopes some of the pictures turn out nicely.
"Will you, uh," Eddie tries, nervous suddenly. "Will you hop in here?"
"You want a photo with me?" Buck asks like that's a surprise, like Eddie wouldn't want to document this day with his best friend.
"Yeah, man. C'mon. You gotta take the picture though, since you have longer arms."
Buck chuckles at him, but dodges into the space next to Eddie, flipping the camera to the front facing one and wiggling around until he gets at least some of the fountain and the mountains beyond into the frame over their heads. He clicks the camera a few times before Eddie squishes his face into Buck's, cheek to cheek. Buck's skin is warm and a little damp from the heat. Eddie absolutely does not care. He just wants to be close.
Finally, Buck seems satisfied with the number of photos he's taken so he pulls away and starts scrolling through them before he AirDrops them to Eddie. It's always a little jarring to him to receive an AirDrop, but it is convenient—a lot better than texting the photos. Eddie doesn't want to look at the photos, barely visible with the bright sun above them anyway. He'll look later, when he's a lone.
"You should send those to Chris!" Buck calls as he pockets his phone and pulls out the map again. "Next stop, the prehistoric forest!"
Eddie can already see some bamboo swaying in the wind ahead of them. A surge of excitement rises in him.
"I'll show Chris at home later. I can barely see my screen right now."
Buck snorts but continues to lead the way.
They come to the cycad collection, and Buck lights up.
"These trees, well okay not these specific trees obviously, but like these types of trees, are hundreds of millions of years old. Like, Eddie, we're looking at trees that have seen the rise and fall of so many animals, including us mammals! And also, the trees can be either male or female. Isn't that neat?"
Eddie is so happy to hear Buck talk. He can feel the dopey smile over his lips at the st and am of information.
"See that thing kinda dangling to the side there, like kind of a pine cone," Buck says, pointing at something that does kind of look like a dick-shaped pine cone. "That means this one is male."
Eddie snorts. "Makes sense."
"It does kinda look like a dick, doesn't it?" Buck whispers when he notices a family is moving toward them.
So far, the majority of people they've seen here have been moms and dads in sunhats and a single small child they're both holding hands with between them. This couple with their little one is no different. Eddie is glad that neither of them said the word "dick" loud enough for the family to hear.
Instead, they diverge around the family and split off into the bamboo to their right. Instantly, Eddie drops into a tranquility, an equanimity that he is wholly unused to. But the sway of the bamboo, the light clacking as the stocks brush together, is like some kind of hypnosis. He could stay here forever.
Buck is equally silent and awed next to him, breathing out a heavy sigh of relief and peace.
"Yeah," Eddie sighs back.
"I feel like I could become bamboo and just live for a thousand years just listening to that sound," Buck whispers, ducking down to say it right into Eddie's ear.
He shivers. Somehow, Buck has put into words exactly what Eddie is feeling.
"Can I be the bamboo planted right next to you?" Eddie says gayly, totally intending it to be a silly joke even if he does mean it. But it comes out sounding so, so gay in Eddie's ears.
"Yeah, yeah, Eddie," Buck waves him off. "I'd love you even if you were a worm, and also you can be the bamboo next to me for 1000 years, okay?"
Eddie snorts. "Thanks, man."
But his heart swells. It's stupid, yeah, but he thinks if he really were a piece of bamboo, he'd want to be next to Buck's bamboo.
They find a little stone bench to sit next to a stone lantern. Not because they're tired. Neither of them seem to be, but when they stumble into the seating area, they both just collapse onto the bench without a word, perfectly in sync like always.
It's a small bench, barely big enough for the two of them. Eddie has to uncomfortably sit with one of his shoulders forward, in front of Buck's chest so they can both fit, yet he's still happy to be there.
A comforting and comfortable silence stretches over them, even Buck being lulled into some unusual kind of stillness that he never normally possesses. Buck is always a blur of motion, always doing something, hands fidgeting and legs bouncing. But right now he's still, preternaturally so.
It's already past 9:30 by the time the spell seems to wear off. Buck lifts his butt off the stone to pull the map back out. Eddie snorts in amusement, though he was ready to get moving too.
"Next up is Baldwin Lake," Buck says, as if Eddie is supposed to know what that means.
He doesn't, but he's excited to find out. With Buck.
"Well, it's not actually a lake. It's a pond that's spring-fed. It's been here for hundreds of years. The Tongva had a pre-Colonial settlement here," Buck continues as they finally make it past the bamboo.
"Do you just know that off the top of your head?" Eddie asks, knowing he's got a dorky smile on his face.
"Hah," Buck barks a little laugh. "Nah. I looked this up on Wikipedia last night since Baldwin Lake and the Queen Anne cottage are kind of the main attractions here. That and the waterfall."
"There's a waterfall here?" Eddie tilts his head as they finally get a glimpse of the lake.
Across from where they're standing is a house, Eddie assumes it's the so-called "Queen Anne" cottage. He isn't sure if that means a queen named Anne lived there or what, but he's sure Buck will explain, so he doesn't bother to ask.
"Yep!" Buck says, pointing to the location of the waterfall on the paper map. "The Meyberg Waterfall. We'll hit that last, actually. Gonna do this loop here," he explains, dragging his finger along the back path, "the tropical bowl. The waterfall is a good photo spot. We can get a few there, so you can show those to Chris too."
There's a small dirt jetty jutting into the lake just a few feet and Eddie feels drawn out to it, seeing some turtles paddling just to the right of the dirt. He wants to get a closer look.
"Keep talking," Eddie instructs. "I'm listening."
"Whatcha lookin' at, Eddie?"
"Turtles," Eddie explains, squatting down to look at them closer.
Not that he really knows anything about turtles. In Texas, there were the turtles with yellow lines all over them—the hilariously named Texas River Cooter that every teenaged boy in the Scouts would not stop saying a million times after they'd learned it for one of their badges—and the ones with the red on the sides of their heads—red-eared sliders. The ones he's looking at right now also have the red on the sides of their heads, but he's not even sure if they're the same kind.
"Oh! They're red-eared sliders!" Buck whisper-shouts when he crouches down next to Eddie to look.
"We have those in Texas," Eddie explains.
"You know turtle species?" Buck asks, tilting his head to the side.
Eddie, still balancing on the balls of his feet in the crouch, bumps into Buck. "I was in Boy Scouts, lest you forget. I'm outdoorsy! I can tie a knot. I did Philmont and Northern Tier."
Buck glazes over the longer Eddie talks, looking distant. Eddie has a lot of issues with his own dad, but the times they did get to spend together, the times Ramon did go on camping trips or help Eddie with badges, he does treasure those. Ramon's not a bad guy. Buck didn't get any such thing from Phillip. Phillip is…less of a good guy.
"How come you never did Scouts with Chris?" Buck asks quietly.
"We did Cub Scouts for a bit, in Texas. But I gave Chris the choice, you know?" Eddie admits, standing and knees popping. "I couldn't be there with him as much as I wanted with my jobs, and he just really didn't vibe with it, so I didn't push it."
Buck stands too. "Do you kind of wish you had? Pushed it, I mean?"
Eddie shrugs. "Sometimes, sure. It was, it was a nice bonding experience with my dad. But you know, it was also one of the only bonding experiences I got with my dad. I got a lot more bonding opportunities with Chris. So, potato potato."
Buck snorts. "Okay, yeah, fair. You got your Eagle, right?"
"Yep!" Eddie lets his shoulder touch Buck's.
"Was it a bear-proof trash can or a gazebo?"
That actually gets a full blown guffaw out of Eddie. "It was actually a bear-proof trash can. And my friend Alejandro did a gazebo. How do you know that stereotype?"
"I knew some Boy Scouts on the football team and stuff."
Eddie nods. "Right, right."
"Anyway, there are some like railings around the Queen Ann house that were an Eagle Scout project."
"So, did Queen Anne live in the house or something?" Eddie asks, because really he has been wondering.
Now, it's Buck's turn to laugh out loud. "No, Eds. It's a style. The Baldwin of Baldwin Lake is the one who had the house built."
"Oh, it's a style," Eddie parrots as they finally round the corner to the cottage.
It's a white house with a red roof and red striped accents all over, with pa
Buck squints up at it, at the palm fronds swaying gently in the air. "Those are actually not endemic to this area. They're Mexican palms," Buck explains as they take it all in.
"Oh, the trees of my people," Eddie jokes as he watches Buck stuff the map in one pocket and slip his phone out of the other again.
He takes a few seconds to line up a shot.
"There are California fan palms here too," Buck explains as he clicks clicks clicks away. "But they have much wider bases. The Mexican ones are the ones that LA is most known for. You know, lining the boulevards and all that."
Then, he inevitably turns his sights on Eddie and encourages him to step into frame with the wave of one hand. Eddie, whipped as he knows he is, does exactly as asked without so much as a protest. Buck snaps a few more pictures with Eddie hovering awkwardly in the frame and then goes to put the phone away.
"No way, dude. Get in here," Eddie says, tugging Buck back into his space where he belongs.
Obligingly, Buck flips the camera again and takes a few of them with their cheeks smushed together. When he's satisfied, Buck AirDrops this new crop of photos to Eddie. He'll check them later, in private, favorite all the best ones with him and Buck. He might show Chris a few pictures, but he's also nervous to be called a lovesick loser by his own son. He's not thrilled at the prospect.
They take the steps up into the house, a couple taking pictures on the porch and several families with their wide hats and their single toddler are milling about inside. Eddie takes it in cursorily at first, deciding the furniture looks old—Victorian, maybe? He's not sure—but mostly he's just enjoying watching Buck's wide, light eyes sweeping around and processing all the sensory input in real time.
"I could see myself getting married here," Buck says wistfully, eyes now gently sweeping around.
Why is Buck wistfully talking about weddings so much today?
Doesn't matter. Now Eddie's imagining it too—the two of them dressing in separate rooms, Chris with Eddie and Maddie with Buck, Buck having insisted they not see each other the day of before the ceremony which is silly because they woke up together, the 118 and extended family all bustling about like happy little bees doing final decorations and munching on hors d'oeuvres until it's finally time, Eddie making his way down the aisle first and then Buck following after, saying "I do" and kissing each other in front of everyone. He also imagines their hotel room after, lacing his fingers with Buck's, and riding him all night and into the early morning hours.
It's a hell of an improvement over the last time Eddie married his best friend. He thinks this one could stick. Not that…well, not that Eddie and Buck are going to get married. Obviously.
"Yeah, it could be nice," Eddie says, completely noncommittal. The most noncommittal you've ever heard. He's totally not committing. To anything. Of course.
Buck sighs again, but he leads Eddie through the house with his phone out—to document, Eddie!—and then over to the coach barn where they used to stable horses. It's been redone, obviously, and feels weirdly fancy. But Eddie can barely concentrate on it because they'd passed a rose garden before coming in here and Eddie really wants to see the roses, honestly. He got a small whiff of the flowers as they walked, but Buck insisted they get to that after the barn. Eddie hurries through it, but then he has to wait on Buck who is ambling and taking it in, phone out to snap more documentary pictures.
Finally, finally, they emerge and Buck leads them to the rose garden.
Towering over it are more of the Mexican fan palms. And it's bustling with families, but it's still peaceful and smells so delicate and sweet, the scent floating on the gentle breeze into their noses as they gaze at the San Gabriel Mountains just beyond.
The family chatter is laughter and playing, kids rolling in the grass and being picked up into their parents arms. It makes Eddie extra wistful himself. Most of the kids are under five, a stage Eddie had missed with Christopher and he's sorely missing it now.
He can't hide a single thing from his best friend. Buck already has his phone out, clicking away, when he swings it back toward Eddie. The phone drops instantly.
"You okay?" Buck asks, keeping his voice low to preserve the peace of the garden and moving in closer to Eddie.
"Yeah," Eddie says, catching sight of the prom girls from earlier, now laying out on the verdant lawn despite signs indicating to stay off of it. Eddie won't tell. "It's just, you know, the kids, I guess. Missed this with Christopher."
Buck nods and leads them down a side path with rose bushes crowding in on either side, making it feel like they're the only people in the world, locked away in this secret garden. It's the kind of hushed environ that gives Eddie enough strength to spit out something he's been keeping in.
"I always thought I'd have more," he says, stopping on the dirt path, but not turning to Buck. "When Shannon and I were," he clears his throat, unable to utter the words about what he and Shannon had been doing even if Buck knows, "well, she thought she might have been pregnant again. I was so excited to possibly get another chance, to raise another kid, even if I wasn't…well, I wasn't 100% about doing it with Shannon since she was almost like a stranger to me by then."
Buck's eyes are wide, but he's silent, absorbing. He and Buck, of course, had been friends at the time, but they weren't thick as thieves the way they are now. Eddie never told him this, never told him that Shannon asked for a divorce, because they weren't like that back then.
"Do you still want that?" Buck whispers, his voice sounding thick even as he avoids Eddie's eyes.
"Yeah, Buck, I do," he admits, hoping the unspoken with you is understood though Buck gives nothing away.
He just swallows and nods, then brings a shaky hand up with his phone to snap some pictures of the roses, their sweet lovely smell intoxicating around them.
"What about you?" Eddie tries, steering his wax wings ever higher.
"Yeah, I mean, yeah. I want kids. If the right person ever…" He trails off and then lets his feet carry him out of the rose garden, out of the conversation, breaking the spell.
Eddie can't help the disappointment that washes over him.
"We're heading toward Asia, then we'll do the flower garden, and then finally finish up with the waterfall," Buck tells him, pulling the paper map out one more time and showing the loops.
So, Eddie quietly follows Buck around more trees and plants, dragging his bloody, ragged heart behind his feet. He snorts when he sees a sign marking one section as the "Garden of Quiet Reflection." He's quietly reflecting, all right, and Buck is suspiciously silent too.
It's like their talk in the rose garden has sucked all the energy out of both of them. Eddie can very easily see why this would not be a good first date location. It's much better suited for families, or friends, he supposes. He doesn't know why he let his hopes get up, why he kept Chris from this. They could have brought his walker or even his wheelchair no problem. He was just being selfish, and now he realizes he's just a dumbass idiot pining for a person who doesn't want him the same way.
He's not going to let his dumb feelings get in the way of his enjoyment of the arboretum. It's been really lovely getting to spend the time here, with Buck, among the plants and flowers. He'd definitely come back, were he to be invited, or maybe to take Chris if he actually did show interest after Eddie shows him some of these pictures.
They finally break out into the flower garden, littered with native and exotic flowers alike. So many of them are interesting and beautiful, part of a mosaic. But somehow, Eddie's eyes light on a tall, yellow flower. Buck seemed content to amble through, taking quick pictures here and there, but he was making a beeline toward where Eddie could see the waterfall—the Meyberg waterfall, as marked on the paper map. But Eddie stops in his tracks, dropping down to his haunches to peer at the little sign nestled among the foliage.
Buttercup - Ranunculus acris
"These are lovely," Eddie says, letting a single finger trail over a velvety petal.
"Yeah," Buck agrees, spinning and taking a candid snap of Eddie still squatted down.
Eddie snorts in amusement. "Well, you'll definitely have to send me that photo so I can show it to Chris."
"'Course," Buck says, already clicking on his screen ostensibly to AirDrop this and several of the other people-less photos he's taken.
"Thanks," Eddie smiles, pulling his phone out to accept the AirDrop and then take a few photos of the buttercups himself before rising to meet Buck.
"Waterfall?" Buck suggests, eyes bright with excitement.
"Yep, let's go."
The waterfall is crowded, people vying to get the best position to get the best photo. And everyone is trading off phones to take photos for strangers, a community effort. It's nice to see.
"We don't have to get a photo," Eddie says after they've been standing in a line for a few minutes.
"No way," Buck waves him off with a flap of his hand. "We're getting this photo."
Eddie rolls his eyes fondly. Secretly, he wants the photo too.
Finally, the people in front of them in line—a Hispanic couple with the cutest little chubby-cheeked 2-year-old who's chewing on a teething ring—get the chance. They immediately turn to Buck and Eddie to ask them to take their photo, as seems to be the social norm. It means Buck will be handing his phone off to a cropped white-haired older lady and her willowy long-haired compatriot behind them. Eddie isn't sure if they're lesbians, but he's unwilling to look at them too much just in case, in case they smell something on him.
So, Buck takes the young couple's phone and cheeses with them, being so, so cute with the toddler and making all kinds of noises and faces. Eddie's heart squeezes at the sight. Buck would be such a good dad. Buck is a good dad, his brain corrects himself as Buck finally hands the phone back to the mom.
Which means it's their turn. Suddenly, Eddie's stomach is turning as he watches Buck hand his phone over to the short-haired woman who looks all-too eager to receive it.
Eddie settles himself a respectable distance from Buck, trying to strike a pose that doesn't look too gay but also looks casual and comfortable. He thinks he's got something when the elder woman leans into her partner and shouts at them.
"Come on, boys! Act like you love each other. Like me and Alice, here!" Her accent is vaguely southern, so she is probably a tourist.
Eddie shuffles a little closer to Buck, but he's still not touching. That is, until Buck gets a huge arm around Eddie's shoulders. It's like permission to touch, so Eddie lets his own arm snake around Buck's waist as they lean into each other. God, it feels good. It's right, that they should be at each other's sides just as much as they have each other's backs.
"That's more like it!" She calls, obviously taking several candids before they finally get into a good position and smile at the camera in tandem.
"Rach," Alice says. "You're embarrassing them!"
"Aw, come on," Rach says. "They shouldn't be ashamed. They should get a nice, romantic picture in front of the fountain just like everyone else!"
Eddie can feel his face heat even with how dewy he already is from the temperature outside. "It's o—" Eddie is in the middle of saying when he feels it.
Buck has leaned in and planted a kiss on Eddie's cheek. What?
"Yay!" Rach cheers. "Got it!"
She must mean the "romantic photo," because she's handing Buck his phone back and they're walking up to the fountain as Buck flips through the ones Rach took for them.
"Thanks!" Buck calls over his shoulder, making haste toward the front of the arboretum now that they've seen everything.
"What—" Eddie tries, but Buck cuts him off.
"It'll make for a funny story later," he explains.
Right. Funny. Okay. Eddie's heart got trampled somewhere near the day lilies. They make it back to Buck's Jeep just past 11 AM.
"Breakfast?" Eddie asks from the passenger seat, feeling his stomach rumble.
"Sounds great," Buck agrees distractedly as he turns the engine on.
The rest of the day is pretty normal, thankfully. No more heart breaks for Eddie, at least.
…
Saturday, Eddie has no plans but to laze around the house, spend some time with Chris, and maybe knock out a few chores. He's putting off the groceries until tomorrow because he can. Maybe he'll wrangle Buck into going with him; it's usually a little more interesting with Buck around anyway.
So, he's really not expecting Buck to let himself into Eddie's house when Eddie's vaguely scrolling Instagram and watching Chris play Doom: The Dark Ages with his hands full of a pot of…buttercups?
"Buck?" Chris calls, looking up from his paused game. "What are you doing here?"
"I, uh," Buck stutters, holding up the pot, "I brought you guys some buttercups."
Chris looks confused as hell, and Eddie knows he is too. But he's also full of love. The flowers he was admiring most yesterday. Buck went and got them for Eddie. Eddie and Chris.
"They're not native to this area, but they actually are to my neck of the woods in New England. I'm honestly impressed that they are able to cultivate them at the arboretum."
Eddie laughs and jumps up from the couch. He's overcome with love, his heart growing with it. He crowds into Buck's space and, with his hands covering Buck's over the pot between them, and kisses Buck.
He doesn't, can't, care that their—yes, their—kid is there to witness. Because Chris is going to be seeing this a lot more going forward if things are heading where Eddie thinks they might be headed.
His eyes are open just a sliver, just enough to look at Buck's face, to see the second Buck melts into the kiss and his eyes close and he kisses Eddie back.
"Get a room!" Chris hollers from where he's peering over at them from the couch, the game paused.
"Well, I guess that's as much of a ringing endorsement as we're gonna get from him," Eddie jokes, pulling back.
Buck is speechless, dazed as his eyes start to creak open.
"I, um," Buck tries, now that Eddie's stepped back. "I love you?"
"I love you too," Eddie nods as he says it. "At the arboretum…"
"The rose garden. Yeah, me too," Buck agrees.
"You guys went to the arboretum without me?" Chris grumps.
Buck's shocked eyes flash to Eddie now, and well, he does feel a bit bad about lying.
"I…wanted you to myself for a day, is all," Eddie shrugs, his face hot as he gazes down at the yellow potted flowers between them.
Buck bought him flowers. Wow.
"Well, you have to take me next time," Chris demands, but he's already back to playing Doom.
"Yes, sir!" Eddie does a mock salute that Chris doesn't see, but has the added bonus of making Buck laugh anyway.
"I think you'll really like it, buddy," Buck tells Chris, but Chris is barely listening at this point.
"Are you guys gonna be kissing all the time now?" Chris asks instead.
"Maybe," Buck says at the same time as Eddie says "Definitely."
They laugh, and Eddie can't help but lean in to kiss Buck one more time.
"I'm gonna need a lot of help keeping these alive," Eddie admits when he takes the flowers from Buck.
"Well, I'm pretty good at keeping things alive," Buck jokes, but he follows Eddie into the kitchen and into their future.
