Work Text:
The thing is, Buck's joked about bringing animals home before.
He and Eddie will be on the couch of the fire station, Buck's legs tossed over his lap, and he'll just randomly go: "I want a cat. Or a dog. Oh, or maybe a ferret." It gets so bad, sometimes, that Eddie has to go into Buck's social media and mute specific words pertaining to animals so he can stop having what Eddie likes to call pet fever.
Buck doesn't actually bring them home, though.
He may be impulsive, but he knows better than to bring a pet home when as firefighters, that's as big of a decision to make as having children. At least, Eddie thought Buck wasn't impulsive enough to bring an animal home.
"Buck."
Buck mutters in his sleep, his biceps tightening around the full grown black cat in his arms, who looks up at Eddie with brilliant emerald colored eyes.
Eddie sighs, runs his hands down his face, tries not to blow up. Leave it to the one day Eddie leaves Buck alone for his husband to bring a stray cat home. Not only that, but for the stray cat to steal his spot in bed.
"Buck, wake up." Eddie says it a little louder this time, only for Buck to continue sleeping peacefully.
The cat is still blinking up at him almost owlishly, as though daring Eddie to reclaim the spot in bed that is now theirs.
Eddie hesitates, brings his hand forward for the cat to sniff. They do, thankfully, and then purr happily when Eddie opens his palms, rubbing into it happily.
"Yeah, there we go," Eddie whispers, voice low and kind. "Now can I just…"
Eddie goes to touch the sheet around the cat and Buck, only for the cat to nip at his finger. Not violently, or anything. In fact, it doesn't hurt at all. It still scares him a bit, especially when the cat hisses at him, low and barely audible.
"Fuck," Eddie cusses under his breath. He tries to analyze the situation, get a way under, but he's so tired and worn out from his shift he ends up just ripping the band-aid off and yelling: "BUCK!" loud enough to shock his husband awake.
Buck jerks, the cat making a loud mewling sound as they hop onto the bed of Buck's curls, wrapping themselves around his husband's head as though protecting him. Buck blinks, rubs the sleep from his eye with the crook of his knuckle. When he's conscious enough to see Eddie, he smiles brightly—the full watt smile that makes it hard for Eddie to ever tell his spoiled ass no.
"Hey, baby," Buck says happily, voice soft with sleep. "I was waiting for you to come home!"
"Don't 'hey, baby' me," Eddie scoffs, crossing his arms. "Did you seriously go out and adopt a cat while I wasn't home?"
"Oh, you mean Midnight?" Buck asks, reaching up to comb his fingers through the black cat's fur. The cat purrs, a deep rumble in their chest, eyes blinking slowly as Buck's palms caress it. (If anyone should be the target of Buck's gentle caresses, it should be Eddie). "We didn't adopt her, we rescued her! Theo, Chris and I were walking in the park, and we saw some teenagers harassing her so I scared them off and took her to the vet to make sure they didn't hurt her."
Eddie's heart swells a bit at the image of his boys scaring off a group of abusive teenagers. How am I supposed to tell Buck we can't keep a cat when that's how they met her? He shakes his head, puts his foot down. "Buck, we can't just take home random cats off the street."
Buck pouts, Midnight's tail wrapping around his hand when he runs a hand down her spine and makes her hair stand up. "She's not random, Eddie. Did you miss the part where I brought her to the vet? We got to know her. And before you get all grumpy, I made sure to get her the rabies vaccine and the FVRCP combination vaccine."
"Do you even know what FVRCP stands for?"
"Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, and Panleukopenia." Buck rattles the words off proudly, obviously having rehearsed it with whatever vet tech told him bringing a cat home to his husband whose never had nor wanted one was a good idea.
"And what exactly do those shots entail, exactly?"
Buck pouts, cuddles Midnight to his chest. "That she won't die, Eds! Ugh, look at her, look at that face—you can't tell me you don't love her already!"
Eddie blinks, looking Midnight in the eye. He makes sure to blink a few times, knowing that if he doesn't, she may take him as a threat. She presses her cheek against Buck's, the combined cuteness of them both making Eddie feel like his head is going to explode.
"I'm going to bed," Eddie sighs. "We can talk about this in the morning, just—keep her on your side of the bed."
(He wakes up to Midnight curled on top of his face halfway through his rest. Buck takes a photo, and laughs).
"Midnight, Midnight!" Theo sings, shaking a little cat toy in his fist. It's a stick with a feather at the end, and he giggles as Midnight jumps up and swipes for it, only for Theo to move last minute. "Mr. Eddie, look at Midnight!"
Eddie takes a sip of his coffee, looking up from the morning news on his phone to look at Theo. He's running around the open space of their kitchen, Midnight watching and jumping at him so he'll stop every so often. He sighs, looks over at Buck who's plating their breakfast he made from scratch—fresh huevos rancheros, Eddie's favorite he always makes when he wants Eddie to vote yes to a new addition to the family.
"Are we going to get her a collar?" Chris asks, taking a sip of his chocolate milk. Even he's not engrossed in his Nintendo Switch, swapping his game of Zelda to watch Theo make Midnight bounce all over the walls. "Do cats even wear collars?"
"Yes, cats can wear collars," Buck says, walking over and placing Eddie's food in front of him, before leaning down and kissing his husband on the cheek. Favorite breakfast, and affectionate? He must really want that cat. "I was reading some forums on reddit—we can go to the pet store today, get a breakaway one. Engrave her name on a cute name-tag."
"Woah, woah, woah," Eddie says, tugging at Buck's apron and pulling him into his lap. Buck wiggles against him, but Eddie keeps him firmly seated in his lap. "I thought we agreed to talk about this, Buck."
Buck pouts, throws his puppy dog eyes over his shoulders. "But Eds—look at how sweet she is! You just have to get to know her, and you'll love her."
"Yeah, dad," Chris says, leaning over and pulling his dad's plate towards him. Eddie quickly gives him a look and pulls it back towards him with the hand that isn't resting on Buck's hip. "Oh, come on. Midnight's fun! I've always wanted a pet."
Theo, listening to everyone intently, picks up Midnight—and properly too, which means Buck already had a safety talk with him. He really thought of everything, didn't he? Theo walks over, gently hands Midnight to Buck, who lets her curl up in his arms. He pushes his chest back against Eddie's, rests their head together.
"Look at her," Buck whispers to him, scratching behind her ear and making her pure. "She's an angel, Eddie. And I promise—all the funds for vet bills, and toys and kitty litter—it'll all come out of my pocket. And the boys already promised to look after her when we're both on shifts. Isn't that right, boys?"
"Yup!" Theo shrieks, at the same time Chris bobs his head silently.
Eddie sighs, kisses Buck on the ear. He brings his hand around his husband to put his hand in front of Midnight again, melting when she once again purrs and rubs into his hand. "She really is sweet, isn't she? Especially after going through what she went through."
"Ugh, dad, those guys were the worst!" Chris explodes, slamming his hands on the table. "I keep telling Buck we need to sick Athena on them, throw them in jail, but he said no."
"Cats don't have rights the same way humans do, mijo," Eddie idly says, petting Midnight gently. Her head is so tiny in his big palm—fur silky smooth, most likely thanks to whatever grooming service Buck insisted she go to after heading to the vet. Midnight continues to blink at him—those emerald, green eyes gorgeous. "You really got her shots?"
"Yes," Buck says, eagerly nodding. "And think about it—cats are a great pet for a firefighter! She doesn't need to go on walks, and can be inside while we are away. Not only that, but the boys will be around to clean her litter, and play with her. It'll give them some sense of responsibility, maybe help them bond a bit, and it'll do wonders for their mental health."
Eddie makes a huffing sound. "Sure it won't do wonders for your mental health?"
"Hey," Buck whines, leaning down and nipping at his husbands ear. "And think about it," he whispers, voice hot against his ear. "Midnight can be a little test run for when we have a baby."
Eddie feels his chest go warm, but he shakes his head with a chuckle. "I thought that was Theo?"
"You're so bad," Buck whines again, getting off his lap and returning to the stove, thankful he set the pan aside off the heated eye. "Soo," he grins, looking over his shoulder at Eddie. "What do you say?"
Eddie looks from Buck's puppy eyes, to Theo's, and then to Chris—who doesn't have puppy eyes but is still looking at him expectantly. He heaves a heavy sigh, and waves his hand. "Fine, fine. We can keep her."
Theo and Buck cheer, jumping up and fist pumping. Midnight runs across the table and leaps into Chris' arms at the big sound.
"I think," Buck says, pointing to the glittery, pink collar on display. "We should get her this collar."
Theo wrinkles his nose, shakes his head. "No, that one is way too girly!"
"Hey, what's wrong with being girly?" Eddie asks, ticking his tongue, and clapping Theo on the shoulder. "Remember your manners, kid."
"Sorry, Mr. Eddie," Theo frowned. "I meant—it's just—"
"Loud?" Chris offers. "Obnoxious?"
"Not helping in the manners department, kid," Eddie sighs.
"How about this one?" Buck pulls a cherry red collar off the rack, smiling and holding it up. "We can pair it with the heart name-tag!"
"Okay!" Theo nods, excited. "Midnight Diaz. I can't believe she's going to be the coolest of us all!"
Once Eddie has paid for the collar—yes, Eddie—they head home to be greeted by Midnight curled up on the couch, sleeping. Chris and Theo go to take their shoes off, and Buck offers her collar to him.
"How about you do the honors?" Buck asks, kissing Eddie's mouth. "After all, you're the one who needs to bond with her."
Eddie rolls his eyes, takes the collar, and heads over to Midnight. He sits down gingerly next to her, wakes her up by placing his hand under her nose. "Hey girl," he says, not really knowing how to speak to a cat. "We—I—got you a collar. Is it okay if I put it on you?"
Midnight looks up, and Eddie gently clicks it on her. She simply moves her neck, before licking his knuckle and going back to sleep. Eddie looks up, smiles at the camera Buck has aimed at him.
"Okay," he admits. "Okay, I think I can get used to you around here."