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If someone asked Eddie how the past four months have been, he’d answer quickly without hesitation: perfect.
If they asked why, he’d respond in the following order:
First, everyone in his 118 family was alive and well. Finding out that the team had almost all died in a lab shook him, especially as it left Bobby in the infected ward for two weeks. Yet, the now-retired fire captain had made a full recovery and often visited the station to cook or to drop off homemade sweets. Chimney slid into the leadership seat relatively smoothly with everyone’s support, and one of his first acts as official captain was to get Eddie back to the 118, which leads to number two.
He and Chris were now back in Los Angeles permanently. They had more than a few talks since first going back to Texas, everything from Shannon and the Kim situation to the overbearing nature of Helena and Ramón Diaz and Eddie’s childhood. It was hard and intense, and the father and son both had processed it all over tears to Buck on separate occasions. Christopher promised to never shut his dad out like that again as long as Eddie promised to be honest with him and to stop trying to replace his mom. Eddie agreed instantly. Within days, he put the fixer-upper on the market, packed up their belongings, and drove all the way back to L.A., where Buck was waiting for them with huge hugs, his own tears, and a warm lasagna.
That brings us to his third reason.
Chris being in Texas gave Eddie a lot of space to think. Thoughts of his own upbringing, his relentless mental war with religion, and being raised in a Latin, Catholic household started it. Then, that led Eddie to question why it was hard to let himself experience joy without earning it. Frank and the hot priest helped a lot here. By the time Eddie was back in Texas himself, working horrible hours as an Uber driver and fixing up his nightmare of a house, something settled within him.
Eddie was gay, and he was demisexual. Adding those words to his vernacular changed everything, or, more accurately, made everything about him make so much more sense. He thought he was broken as a kid. He never could ogle at girls like his baseball teammates did. Never experienced the butterflies or the desire he heard about. But he knew he loved Shannon. She was his best friend, one of his favorite people who understood him in a way his family didn’t know how to. She bulldozed her way into his heart through blunt questioning, afternoons at the lake, and a free spirit with mischievous, sparkling eyes.
But now Eddie saw how he equated their emotional connection to physical attraction. Shannon was a beautiful woman, always had been, but when he stopped to think, he remembered being more aware of David, one of his baseball teammates, with a stunning grin and wavy hair that curled along his ears. He and Eddie always teased and pushed each other around, bumping shoulders in a way that made Eddie’s heart flip. Looking back, Eddie could now say David was probably his first real crush.
Telling Christopher came as part of the other conversations. Christopher had questions about Shannon, which of course made sense, but Eddie took the time to explain it all. He’d never forget the way Christopher tightly hugged him after, head tucked into his shoulder like he used to do when he was little and whispered, “I’m proud of you, kid.”
Eddie would also always remember how Christopher reacted to seeing David in an old team photo when he asked. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline before he let out a bark of laughter. “Wow,” Christopher drew out. “You got a type, Dad.”
“What?" Eddie defended, “I do not!”
Christopher just leveled him with a look that screamed Shannon when he used to be stubborn with her. But the blush creeping up his neck betrayed him, because Christopher hadn’t even said a name, but Eddie had had the same thought when first looking back at David’s bright blue eyes, pale skin, and light brown hair.
He had looked like Buck.
Buck was his fourth and the main reason everything in Eddie’s life could be described as perfect. He had stepped up so much when Christopher first left, making sure Eddie didn’t become an old hermit hidden away from the world forever. He cooked casseroles, invited Eddie to play video games, and a lot of the time just sat next to Eddie in silence when he needed support but not conversation.
Then, he rented Eddie’s house so he could go to Christopher. He made sure they had plenty of room and food when they returned. He tried to give them space, which Eddie just flat-out refused. Their bickering led to Eddie confessing everything he had told Christopher: he was gay. He was demisexual, and arguably more importantly, he was in love with Buck.
Eddie had loved him for years without calling it out, but now that he was aware, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. Not when their shoes were mixed together by the door and he had put Buck in his will. Not when Buck stumbled through the kitchen one night with hands full of reusable shopping bags (“because of the environment, Eddie!”) blabbering about how he almost got into a fight with a middle-aged white woman over the last carton of orange juice with pulp because he noticed Eddie drinking more juice lately and “juice with pulp has more antioxidants and I worry about you, Eds. I bought you some pomegranate juice, too.”
Eddie had stared at him in disbelief while Buck went on and on, feeling so much warmth and love override his senses. Then, Buck caught his widened eyes and growing, fond smile, and innocently tilted his head. “What?”
So, Eddie kissed him.
Since then, things has been perfect. They were officially dating and living together, and Eddie carried himself a little higher due to the lightness in his steps. Just that morning the two had savored the quiet, early morning, Buck plastered against his side. He had one arm thrown lazily across Eddie’s bare chest, their legs tangled together beneath their blankets. His curls tickled Eddie’s jaw but Eddie dare not move in order to let Buck rest. Instead, he traced patterns on Buck’s freckled shoulder and hummed along to an old Spanish song he had learned from his abuela.
Let Eddie reiterate once again: things were perfect.
But now, only a few hours later, something— or more like, someone— was trying to ruin it. Eddie had noticed Buck on his phone more that day than normal, but not suspiciously so. He just kept receiving notifications of some sort that kept his brow furrowed and eyes rolling.
Eddie saw the shift in his boyfriend instantly. There was a metaphorical cloud hanging over his sunshine’s head and Eddie knew he had to fix it. He drifted over into Buck’s orbit in the station kitchen after watching him angrily huff and shove his phone into his pocket.
“Alright, bud,” he greeted in a gentle tone, hand pressing into Buck’s lower back as an act of comfort. “Something’s bothering you. What is it?”
Buck relaxed at Eddie’s touch, even leaned into him more as he sighed. “Nothing important,” he tried to dismiss with a slight wave. “Just getting a lot of annoying messages today.”
Eddie frowned. “Like what?”
Buck hesitated, Eddie feeling the slight tense in his back.
That made even more warning bells go off in Eddie’s head. “Hey,” Eddie shifted so he stood more in front of Buck, keeping his hand on the curve of Buck’s waist. He used his other to tuck two fingers under Buck’s chin and tilt up his head.
Buck swallowed hard when brown eyes met blue.
“What’s going on, Buck?”
“I just don’t want you to get mad at me.”
Eddie’s brows raised. “And why on earth would you think I’d get mad at you?”
Instead of directly answering, Buck sucked in a heavy breath. He broke Eddie’s stare to warily glance around the station. They were almost entirely alone with the exception of Johnson and Ramirez playing cards at the kitchen table.
“Do you remember once we got together, we decided to always be honest with each other, because life is too short and we’ve been through too much already?” Buck asked, wringing his fingers together repeatedly.
“Of course.”
“And remember how you told me about David and I told you about, well, my mistake with Tommy?”
Eddie wrinkled his nose instantly at the mention of Buck’s ex-boyfriend. That conversation, hearing about Tommy sliding back to Buck once he found out Eddie left, hadn’t been a highlight for Eddie. Then again, nothing about Tommy was ever really pleasant to begin with.
Eddie will admit that he thought they had a lot in common at first, but the more they hung out, especially once Tommy started dating Buck, Eddie had noticed multiple issues.
Tommy didn’t treat Buck as he deserved to be treated, especially because he called him ‘Evan’ after being told not to multiple times. He left Buck standing on the street in the middle of their first date and didn’t warn Buck about his soot-covered face at Maddie and Chim’s wedding. He belittled Buck’s interests, made them and ergo Buck seem childish for every research spiral or new hobby. Couldn’t have been bothered to even pretend to care about Buck’s favorite things (cough, he bought him Laker’s tickets, I mean, really?). And that barely scratched the surface.
And don’t even get Eddie started on the lame-ass excuse Tommy gave Buck when they broke up.
Granted, Eddie knew now that it wasn’t that he just disliked Tommy, in the same way there was more to his dislike of Abby, Taylor, and any person Buck dated. He had been jealous, especially since he knew he could (and does) treat Buck better than any of them ever did.
“Unfortunately.”
“Well, he, uh, ran into me the other day at the store,” Buck confessed. “I was getting those scones you like.”
Eddie perked up. “The orange one's with the dark chocolate?”
“Yes, exactly,” Buck nodded a few times and pointed at him. “Exactly, and because I want to try and make them myself and have you be my taste tester.”
“I would love that.”
Buck beamed. “I know you would.” But then, he remembered the topic of conversation and let out a groan as his head fell onto Eddie’s shoulder. Naturally, Eddie raised his hand to gently hold the back of Buck’s neck.
His voice came out kind of muffled from his lips being against Eddie’s shirt. “It was so awkward and weird and I hated every second of it, and I wished there wasn’t more to tell you.”
Eddie tensed. “What do you mean by more?”
“More as in he hasn’t left me alone since then,” Buck dead-panned. Without lifting his head from Eddie’s shoulder, he grabbed his phone from his pocket and shoved it into Eddie’s face. “Here. Look.”
Eddie blinked but then took the phone from his boyfriend. He unlocked it with ease, since Buck’s password was Christopher’s birthday, and ignored the background of a selfie where Buck was kissing his cheek to open his recent messages.
It was kind of hard to stomach, if Eddie was honest. There were at least six messages, most of them paragraphs, and four calls over the span of two days. It could’ve been worse, Eddie knows, reading Tommy’s clear (yet amateur) attempts at flirting. But embarrassingly, it still got to him.
“I probably said three words in total at the grocery store,” Buck continued to fill in details as Eddie scrolled. “Because you and Chris were waiting on me and I had frozens!”
From: Tommy
It was nice seeing you today. Didn’t realize how long it’s been. You ran off but want to come catch up at my place properly?
“But he clearly thought you were just playing hard-to-get,” Eddie deducted, after reading the first one. His nose scrunched again when he saw his own name. “Oh, god, Kinard, really? So, he knows I’m back? Thinks using me will get you to reply?”
“Apparently,” Buck grumbled. “I didn’t respond or answer to anything because, well, I don’t want to.”
From: Tommy
Heard Eddie was back in town. I know what I said, but I want to give us another chance, Evan. You look good, really good.
Eddie’s stomach twisted as he read every word. It reminded him of the time where Christopher and him had the guts to try a new takeout place in El Paso and then spent the night throwing them up.
From: Tommy
Have been replaying our last night together, and the way you looked. Down to recreate it and willing to go down, if you know what I mean.
His grip on Buck’s phone tightened. He wanted to throw up from the way anger shot through him like flames catching flint.
“I didn’t want to tell you and you get upset,” Buck whispered, finally lifting his head from Eddie’s shoulder, a deep frown tugging his lips down.
“I am upset,” Eddie admitted, but quickly met Buck’s eyes. “But not at you, sweetheart. Never at you.”
Relief flooded through Buck’s features. “Really?”
“Buck,” Eddie’s face softened and he knew if anyone interrupted them now, they’d call him out for looking shamefully fond. “You didn’t do anything wrong. He’s the one clearly not getting the hint you don’t want to talk to him. That’s why I’m upset.” He paused to cup Buck’s cheek. “He’s not respecting you, just like he didn’t respect you when you two were actually dating. You deserve better than that.”
“I have better,” Buck corrected instantly. “The best, actually.”
The smile brightening his face making Eddie beam right back at him. “No, I’m pretty sure that’s what I have,” Eddie told him before pulling him closer. They shared a brief kiss, mindful of their current location but it was still enough that Eddie felt that warmth, that lightness rush over him.
“I love you,” Buck whispered when they broke apart. “So much.”
“I love you so much, too,” Eddie replied, sneaking one more peck to the corner of his mouth before stepping back. “And it’s because I love you that I’m going to block Tommy from your phone. Old hag is gonna leave you alone whether he wants to or not.”
Buck snorted, but didn’t disagree. “Have at it, please. I have nothing nice to say to him.”
Eddie smirked, already opening Buck’s phone once more.
“That makes two of us, baby.”
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Honestly, and maybe a little naively, Eddie thought that blocking Tommy would be the end of it.
Buck’s mood had considerably brightened after their little kitchen check-in for the rest of their shift. Now, Buck babbled about their plans for their days off, which included taking Christopher to the science center’s newest exhibit about bioluminescence. For that evening, though, since Christopher was at a friend’s house, they planned to have a classic night in together, complete with dinner, beer, and a movie Eddie didn’t really plan on watching.
“We have time, you know,” Buck teased, breaking the kiss Eddie had started the second the front door closed. His back was against the wall, their duffel bags dropped at their feet. Eddie had one hand in Buck’s hair, the other twisting Buck’s shirt. Buck gripped Eddie’s waist.
“Never enough,” Eddie stole another kiss before Buck’s laughter broke them apart once more.
“Eds, I love you,” Buck stated, lifting his hands to cup Eddie’s face and look him in the eyes. “But I really don’t want to keep smelling like mothballs for the rest of the night.”
A fight in a perfume store during a rare sale left two women with broken bones and three with cuts from shattered glass casings and bottles. It unfortunately also had Buck being the one to wrestle with a spry older lady who wouldn’t calm down. She had not only smashed open one of the bottles, but then poured it all over Buck in an attempt to get away. Luckily, she ran right into Athena, but even after showering at the station, Buck’s nose still crinkled at the strong scent of what he called a maple syrup’s vape and tobacco nightmare seeped into his skin.
Buck drew in Eddie close to press a kiss to his hair before gently moving him aside. “I’m gonna go shower, okay?”
Eddie sighed dramatically, making the corners of Buck’s lips flip up. “Yeah, I guess. Just don’t take too long.”
Buck smiled. “Never.”
While Buck showered, Eddie decided to get an early start on dinner. He went into the kitchen, pulling out the squash and cucumbers Buck had bought for a classic sheet pan meal with grilled chicken. It didn’t take too long to wash the vegetables, and Eddie found a rhythm as he started to slice them. A small smile stayed on his face because he could hear Buck playing a random blend of pop and indie music in the bathroom.
But then the doorbell rang.
Eddie paused his movements, glancing at the clock on the oven as he quickly wiped his hand on a nearby dishrag. It was still relatively early in the evening, but very rarely did anyone they knew drop by without warning. So, with his brow furrowed, he headed to the front door.
Never in a million years did he expect Tommy Kinard to be on the other side.
The helicopter pilot had his hand raised and curled into a fist, most likely about to knock if Eddie hadn’t answered.
Too many emotions attacked Eddie the second their eyes locked. He didn’t know how to name them, but recognized the churning in his gut from realizing Tommy, dressed in a button-down that washed out his sickly skin, looked surprised to see Eddie. What made it worse was the stench of whatever bad cologne struck Eddie’s nose when he made himself take a deep breath, his hand tightening around the door. Eddie felt like he was going to puke, just like he had been at the station.
“Oh, um, hi,” Tommy greeted when Eddie didn’t. “It’s nice to see you, Eddie.”
“Wish I could say the same, Kinard.” Eddie remained still, taking note of how Tommy shifted his weight before almost puffing out his chest and forcing a chuckle.
“Well, that’s certainly a way to greet an old friend.”
Eddie’s face scrunched. “We’re not friends.”
Tommy raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll admit I understand why you don’t want to see me,” he admitted. “You’re in protective best friend mode, but I promise you don’t need to be threatened by me.”
It took everything in Eddie not to burst out laughing. He’d never admit it himself, but Buck and the rest of the 118 had pointed out one too many times how petty Eddie could act. Most of the time, he knew how to reign it in and keep a calm, neutral expression until he could safely bitch later. But when it came to protecting Buck against the sheer audacity of how some horrible people treated him, it came out a lot easier.
Seeing Tommy’s extremely confident-looking but very punchable face struck that chord. Instantly.
“Threatened?” Eddie echoed, his head tilting. “By you?” He shook his head, wearing a small grin before he schooled his face into an expression of deadpan stoicism as he looked Tommy straight in the eye. “I have never been threatened by you, Kinard. However, you can’t really say the same thing about me, can you?”
Tommy blinked, taken aback by Eddie’s bluntness. Eddie went on.
“Because from how I understand things, you broke up twice because of me.” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest. He raised his eyebrows. “Right? That’s what you told Buck? That I was your competition that had gone away?”
Tommy narrowed his gaze. “Okay, Diaz, look—”
“Hm, no,” Eddie interrupted him and held up one hand. “Let me direct. Just stop. You’re being fucking weird.”
“Oh, I’m being weird?” Tommy’s jaw locked. Eddie noticed him clenching his fists at his sides. “I’m not the one standing in my old house threatening his friend.”
“No,” Eddie snapped. “I am the one in my current home threatening my boyfriend’s ex, who won’t take the hint and leave him alone.”
Tommy scoffed. “Boyfriend?” His eyes rolled. Eddie prayed they’d get stuck in the back of his head. “Figures that you two just now put the pieces together.”
“Our relationship is none of your business,” Eddie spoke sharply. “It never has been. What is my business is you inserting yourself in places where you do not belong. You kept calling, Buck. He didn’t answer because he doesn’t want to talk to you. That was the message you should have received loud and clear. So, yes, you’re fucking weird for showing up to our home.”
Eddie feigned a laugh as he came to another conclusion. “Actually, you’re fucking weird for lots of things, but especially for objectifying and treating Buck like he is merely something to win. He is a human being, Kinard,” Eddie emphasized. “One of the best ones with the biggest hearts, and you—” Eddie pointed at him— “do not get to come back here with this fake-ass confidence and pretend you didn’t break it when you had it.”
Eddie was full-on spewing now. “It’s also not my fault that you fucked up again by claiming I was winning a game I didn’t even know I was playing!”
Tommy huffed. “You’re being ridiculous—”
“Nope, no,” Eddie shook his head. He refused to let Tommy get a thought, even mere words, into the conversation. He couldn’t help it.
Buck was Eddie’s favorite person, right after Christopher. There was no one with as much joy for life and room in his heart as Buck. He made every room he stepped into brighter, every call on the job easier due to his competence and willingness to help those in need. Buck was also insanely creative, always helping Chris come up with out-of-the-box projects and solving problems in nontraditional ways that usually end up being more efficient. He was kind, and goofy, and smart, and literally the best partner and friend and love Eddie could ever ask for.
And most importantly, Buck wasn’t Tommy’s.
“You are the ridiculous one for ever letting Buck go, and you are the ridiculous one for crossing his boundaries. I’m only acting the way I am because you don’t seem to be getting it.”
Eddie narrowed his eyes once more as he took a step forward. “He’s mine, Kinard,” Eddie declared, their chests bumping together. “I was winning back then, and I win now. You lose. That’s it. I win.”
His words hung in the air, and he kept the scowl that curled up his lips in disgust as Tommy glowered.
“You done, Diaz?” he finally dared to speak.
“Not unless you have any more shit to say.”
“Fine.”
And with that, Tommy stepped back.
Eddie stood firm by the door and watched him leave. His scowl turned into a smirk, and he pettily lifted a hand to wave before he called out, “Come back ever, and I’ll have you arrested for harassment!”
Tommy didn’t reply, but Eddie saw the stiffening in his shoulders before he got in his car and drove away without another word.
Eddie grinned.
He nodded once and wiped his hands together, as if cleaning himself of that unfortunate interaction. Then, he turned around and went inside the house— already thinking about how he needed to finish cutting the squash and preheat the oven as the door closed— and immediately froze upon seeing Buck a mere foot or two away.
He wore a cut-off tee, his tattooed arms on full display, with his hands shoved into the pockets of his worn, gray sweatpants. His curls were bouncy like they always were after he washed them, but still damp. His blue eyes were shining, and a coy little smile quirked up the corner of his mouth. He partially leaned against the back of the couch, just shamelessly staring at Eddie.
“Well, that was one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen.”
Instantly, Eddie felt his cheeks flush, and his hand flew up to rub the back of his neck. “How much did you hear?”
“Most of it,” Buck shrugged, but his smile didn’t fade. “Debated interfering, actually, but it seems like you handled yourself well.”
He straightened up and walked towards Eddie, whose eyes fell to the floor. “I’m sorry, Buck,” he apologized with a sigh.
Buck stifled a laugh. “For what, Eds?” He grabbed Eddie’s hands and interlinked them around his neck, crowding into his boyfriend’s space. He caressed a thumb over Eddie’s jaw to get Eddie to look back up at him. “For defending me against my ex? For rightfully telling him that I am yours?”
Eddie sputtered at the gentle touch. “I, I didn’t mean it in an objecting, objectifying way,” he said. “Obviously, you’re a whole person and no one, like, owns you, but he wasn’t getting it and I just—”
“Wanted to punch him in the face?”
“His face is very punchable,” Eddie defended.
Buck hummed, Eddie losing a breath at the amused twinkle in his blue irises. “Hey, Eds?”
Eddie softened, leaning closer to Buck without even thinking, so that their noses brushed. “Yeah, baby?”
Buck didn’t respond verbally at first. Instead, he pressed their lips together, still cupping Eddie’s face. His boyfriend kissed back eagerly, fingers splaying along the back of Buck’s curls. When they took a quick breath, Buck asked, “Can we just forget he exists, please?”
Eddie beamed. He pulled Buck closer, having no intention to let him go anytime soon, as he leaned in for another kiss.
“Absolutely.”