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Evan ‘Buck’ Buckley hasn’t liked storms ever since he was struck by lightning a few months ago. He knows that it’s irrational, that the odds of being struck by lightning twice were not high, but the storm woke him up anyway, and he can’t seem to fall back asleep. Not even the inviting embrace of his newish boyfriend, Alex Claremont-Diaz, can lure back to sleep.
And he doesn’t want to wake him up, so he slides out of bed and makes his way down the stairs to his kitchen. He’d go outside if it wasn’t for the storm, but he wouldn’t be up if there wasn’t a storm. So, instead, he decides to just focus on making one of Bobby’s famous dishes – chili.
He’s been working on it for ages, trying to get it just right. Bobby’s been teasing him about it, and he’s determined that he’s going to get it someday.
As he gets out the ingredients, he’s not surprised by Bobby’s text asking if he’s doing alright.
He takes the opportunity to call knowing that the lightning has probably gotten him up, too. Both still working through the aftermath of the lightning strike.
“Do you know the odds of getting struck by lightning twice?” he asks as soon as he sees Bobby’s tired face, not in bed next to Athena, but also in the kitchen.
“Yes, you’ve told me before that it’s a long-shot, but kid, I hope you realize that you’ve had some pretty long-short odds yourself before or do I need to remind you of how amazing it is that you’re still here or you still have a leg?” Bobby retorts, looking surprisingly content with the knowledge despite what he’s saying.
“And here, I thought you were calling me to check in on me,” Buck teases. “Make me feel better about the storm and the lightning.”
Bobby laughs and ignores that bit. “What are you making?”
“I was going to try and perfect your chili.”
“I’d be happy to help you.”
“Great.”
***
Alex wakes to the smell of chili and slight laughter wafting up the stairs and an empty bed. He knows that Buck isn’t fond of storms, so he’s not really surprised that he isn’t sleeping.
But he is a bit curious as to why he’s laughing as he makes his way down the steps of the loft in just Buck’s oversized (on him) LAFD t-shirt and his underwear. It quickly becomes clear that he’s on the phone with Bobby, his captain and somewhat of a father figure for Buck, who is the only person Alex has met in Buck’s life as of yet.
He smiles when Buck looks up from his phone and the pot and smiles a bit shyly. “Sorry, did I wake you?”
Alex shakes his head and offers a teasing smile. “Not exactly, you just made me hungry.”
Buck wiggles his eyebrows which causes laughter from the phone and from Alex.
“Here, come try this,” Buck offers. “Bobby’s been helping me perfect it.”
Alex moves around the island to Buck’s side accepting the spoonful of chili.
“That’s amazing,” he says, after swallows. There’s a look of utter pride on Buck’s face, and Alex can glance down to see that that there’s an equally proud look on Bobby’s face. “Definitely the world’s perfect chili made at two-thirty in the morning.”
Buck laughs and nods at the lightning flashing through the window. “Bobby and I couldn’t sleep, so we decided to cook.”
Alex smiles at looks at the phone. “So, you both made pots of chili?”
Bobby smiles. “Yes, we opted to create my famous chili together so now we have a good excuse to invite everyone over and enjoy it tomorrow once the storm settles.”
Alex glances at Buck uncertainly, the only person he’d met so far had been Bobby, and that was an accident was Buck really ready to introduce him around?
“I’ve been wanting to introduce you to the team for ages, and the weather already looks like it’s starting to clear,” Buck says, nodding at the clouds moving away through the glass windows and the way that the thunder and lightning has begun to lessen, the rain softening as well.
Alex can tell that this means a lot to Buck, and he’s been wanting to meet Buck’s family for some time. “I’d love that.”
“Awesome,” Buck says, giving him a kiss.
“Now that the chili is done and the lightning has ceased, maybe we should pack this up and get some sleep?” Bobby suggests. “Bring it by later, say two?”
“Sounds perfect,” Buck admits. “See you then.”
“Good night.”
Buck hands up the phone and shares a look with Alex. “You know, I’m not particularly into sleeping right now. Maybe we could clean this up and have some fun instead.”
Alex grins, smiling brightly. “Love the sound of that.”
“Good.”
***
The sun is shining.
There’s no sign of storm the night before.
A stormy night to a perfect day for a barbeque.
Buck can’t help smiling as everyone enjoys the chili that he and Bobby made. Both nearly identical, almost impossible to tell apart, which proves that he really is learning when it comes to cooking Bobby’s family recipes.
“Don’t fill up on chili,” Bobby states as he sits beside Buck smiling at Alex playing with Jee. He’s so good with kids and Buck just hopes that someday they could be good with their own kids. “I made dessert after our call.”
“Oh? You know dessert isn’t always –”
“I made your favorite dessert,” Bobby interjects. “You’ll love it, I promise.”
Buck hums. He does like the sound of that. “Alright, you’re on. I guess I could have dessert today.”
“Good.”
There’s a pause as Bobby follows Buck’s eyeline to Alex.
“He fits right in, you know,” he offers with a smile. “And you seem to really like him.”
Buck grins at him. “I do; I really like him a lot. And I could easily see a future with him.”
“Good,” Bobby states. “He’s a good one, and you deserve the best.”
“Thanks, Bobby, I really appreciate that.”
“Good.”
Alex yells for him to join him and Jee and Buck doesn’t hesitate to do just that.
Happy that he’s found his future, and his family loves him, too.
It’s perfect and everything that he’s ever wanted.