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“THAT’S MY BOY!”
A sense of familiar warmth filled Buck when he heard Eddie call him that. For a moment, it didn’t matter that they were surrounded by firefighters they didn’t know or competing in the firefighting games. Everything else faded away at that moment; all Buck could hear was Eddie laying claim to him.
It wasn’t even anything that he could or would deny. He is Eddie’s, and Eddie is his. Okay, he could admit that he was going overboard in the desire to win. It’s just that he wanted to prove that Bobby’s faith in him and Eddie wasn’t misplaced. Bobby had believed that Eddie would come back home and that he and Eddie would become a team again.
That wasn’t all of it; he didn’t want Eddie to think he made a mistake in coming back, that despite them no longer being work partners, they still had each other’s backs. ‘I didn’t know I was coming back.’ The casual way Eddie had tossed out that remark had shattered and destroyed something in him. It had to do with how he really felt about Eddie. Despite what Maddie and Tommy seemed to think, he did indeed know that he was in love with Eddie. How couldn’t he? Eddie is his person. The one he had searched for, the one he found his place to call home. He had hoped that maybe Eddie felt the same, but he knew that their relationship wasn’t the normal way that best friends act with one another.
Shannon returning to the Diaz’s lives had sent Buck spinning, and then Eddie wanted to make things work with her. Oh, Buck couldn’t blame him; she was his wife and Christopher’s mom. So Buck had pushed his feelings aside and planned on setting aside and letting Shannon have her role back. So he tried to move on with Ali, but she saw right through him.
“You’re in love with Eddie, aren’t you?” Ali out of the blue question was so unexpected that it had Buck stumbling.
Turning around, Buck could only stare at Ali, who was giving him an understanding look from his couch. “I don’t know what you mean?” Buck knows it sounds weak, and from Ali’s raised eyebrow, she knew that as well. He could feel his shoulders slumping. “What gave me away?”
Climbing to her feet, Ali crossed the distance between them and put a comforting hand on his cheek, “Because I have been there as well. I fell in love with my best friend, and I was even the maid of honour at her wedding.”
Lifting his head, Buck’s eyes met hers, and he saw the pain and heartbreak in them. “Does it ever get better?”
“With time. I knew that she was never going to love me in that way. She is completely straight. I forced myself to move on, to let her go; otherwise, I risked losing one of the most important people in my life. But that is my story, not yours. But she never looked at me the way Eddie looks at you, and I became the fun aunt to her children. You are one of Christopher’s parents, and that hasn’t changed just because Shannon has come back.”
Mirroring her, Buck placed a hand on her cheek, “I’m sorry I can’t love you, Ali, and I promise you I wasn’t using you to move on from Eddie. I don’t know how to move on from him yet.”
Her smile was kind and understanding. “You are not that kind of man who would use people, Buck. The kind of love you have for Eddie isn’t something you will just get over with a snap of your fingers; it will take time, but something tells me that it isn’t as hopeless as it would seem right now.”
Buck never got a chance to talk to Eddie or clear the air that he and Ali were only friends. She wasn’t in LA much due to her job, so the 118th family barely saw her. Maddie was kidnapped by Doug, then Shannon requested a divorce from Eddie because she admitted that she wasn’t ready to be a mother or wife. Leaving a heartbroken Christopher and angry Eddie behind. Buck did his best to help, but then the bombing happened.
Things changed when the world shut down, and Buck was starting to believe that maybe Eddie felt the same as he did, until Eddie suddenly started dating Ana and Buck was caught in a whirlwind of watching the love of his life pushing him aside for the perfect woman his parents would approve of. Learning about Daniel has only added to his pain and heartbreak. He hadn’t meant to move beyond friendship with Taylor, but he was tired of being alone and waiting for Eddie, who was determined to build a future with Ana.
The panic attacks Eddie had about being considered an already made family with Ana had surprised him, for all he had known, Eddie hadn’t had them when people believed that they were Christopher’s parents.
Eddie’s breakdown and leaving the 118th.
The Lighting strike had left Buck dead for 3 minutes and 17 seconds. Buck had never meant to cause his family that kind of pain.
Then came Natalia, Marisol and then Tommy.
Tommy, whom Ali had helped him to realize in one of their weekly talks, had been trying to date Eddie first, and when Buck opened up to her about how Tommy had ended their first date, well, she had been livid.
“Buck, he left you on the curbside after trying to get you to come out to your best friend in the middle of a busy restaurant. He had no right to do that. You and you alone get to choose when you wish to come out to everyone. I am happy you trusted me enough to tell me, but Buck, I know you think you were acting jealous because Eddie was the one who got all of Tommy’s attention, but we both know that you are jealous because Tommy was taking all of Eddie’s attention off of you.”
“It just feels like I am losing Eddie and Christopher from my life. I barely see Eddie anymore because he is dating Marisol, so what little time Eddie had left for me was going towards Tommy. I was hurt.”
Coming out to Eddie was scary and freeing, but when Eddie asked about Tommy, Buck told him the truth, it went nowhere, and he didn’t have plans on asking Tommy out again. Surprisingly, despite not letting Eddie know how the date ended, Eddie stopped all contact with Tommy.
Then the whole Kim mess.
Christopher had left to live with Shannon in New York, where she had ended up. She had visiting rights, but Christopher primarily lived with Eddie. They would exchange holidays.
Isabela Diaz had been livid when she learned that the appearance of Kim and the mind games she played with Eddie had all been a part of Helena’s plans to get custody of Christopher. Christopher was supposed to call her and move to El Paso, not his mother, and during Christopher’s talks with his grandparents, Helena had been feeding Christopher’s anger towards his dad until Eddie felt like he had no choice but to move to New York to try and work things out with his son.
“THAT’S MY BOY!”
Eddie cheered as Buck took first place in his event. He wasn’t happy when he learned he was attending these games. Things had been weird and tense between him and Buck since he moved back to LA. Not that he knew he was moving back until he was turning down the job offer there. The one that neither he nor Christopher wanted him to take. It started in that kitchen and their fight. Both were worried about Bobby. It had been touch and go for so long that there was a chance that they might lose him. Eddie had been on edge, and Buck was shutting him out, trying to be there for everyone but not letting anyone be there for him. He also knows he was keeping up a wall with Buck, not letting him in, but he didn’t know how to tell Buck that he was in love with him. Spending time with Shannon, she had forced him to admit that he had been in love with Buck.
Shannon had been right; they weren’t working as a couple, and they never would. It had taken time, but Eddie and Shannon had managed to rebuild the friendship they had before they started dating. Eddie was happy for that; he had missed his friendship with her.
“Eddie, I say this with love, just kiss Buck already.”
A sigh escaped Eddie as he ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t. I don’t want to ruin what Buck and I have.”
A snort escaped Shannon as she watched her ex-husband pace over the video call. “You and Buck are not going to end up like us. That man loves you with his whole heart, and he loves our son. Why do you think I agreed with you putting Buck in your will as Christopher’s guardian? Hell, he is named in mine, too. So stop dragging your feet and tell that man you love him. Christopher could use some siblings.” Shannon reminded Eddie. “You want to see Buck round with your babies.”
“Shannon!”
“What? Even if it is impossible, given that you are both men, you would have fun trying. That won’t happen until you tell Buck you love him and have all the sex you want.”
As Buck came rushing back to him, a glow on his face, all Eddie could think about was kissing him.
Buck’s mind shut down the moment Eddie’s lips touched his. ‘I’ve died and gone to heaven,’ was the only thought running through his head at that moment. ‘Kiss him back!’ His mind screamed at him, and Buck quickly did that.
Pulling apart, Eddie grinned at Buck, “I love you, Evan Buckley.”
Buck was glowing, “I love you too, Eddie Diaz.”
“Good, now let’s win this thing, and then we can start planning our wedding. I’m certain that Abuela and Bobby have wedding binders ready for us.” Eddie would need to pick out a ring for Buck. Christopher could help him with that when they got back to LA.
“I can’t wait to surprise the others when we get home.” Buck was giddy; he was going to marry the love of his life.
LA
“Did they just?” Chimney asked, staring at the screen.
“They did.” Hen didn’t bother to contain her laughter.
“I guess they forgot this was live and we could watch it.” Ravi shook his head, pulling out his phone to text Albert.
“Man, this means mom wins!” Harry’s announcement had everyone on shift groaning. Well, everyone but Bobby, who was already on the phone with Isabel Diaz, both of whom indeed did have Buddie's wedding binders ready.