Work Text:
Eddie doesn’t remember falling asleep. The soft sheets underneath him are familiar though, their scent intoxicatingly like a detergent he swears he hasn't touched in years. He stretches and finally opens his eyes to find a curly tuft of hair next to him. Theo. He leans down and kisses the top of his head. His vision is blurry, the sleep still trying to overtake him as he throws his feet over the edge of the bed. He notices it then, this isn’t his house. What’s worse? It's not Buck's either, this is his parent’s house.
He glances around to try and find his phone but nothing. The drawers are neat, too neat, like they’d never been touched. The suitcase in the closet is empty and Theo's things are all up in a corner of the closet. He opens the door and looks back at Theo’s sleeping form. He has to figure out what happened, why they’re here. Why Buck isn’t with them, where Chris could be, and why he can't remember anything beyond waking up.
The aroma of cinnamon fills his lungs as he gets closer to the kitchen. He knows his mom is most likely baking cinnamon rolls, the only thing she ever really makes for the weekends. He hears footsteps and stops at the bottom of the stairs, three figures coming into his view. He exhales, maybe they can help. He goes to take a step and finds himself waiting when he hears his sister’s voices.
“I don’t understand why he came back here, he chose that man over us, over his family.”
“Not like we left him much of a choice. You knew exactly what you signed him up for and didn’t tell him.” Sophia’s voice cuts through sharply.
“Right? Because I’m gonna believe that Mr. I Got Shot In Afghanistan couldn’t find a way to say no to being bought like a fucking whore?” Adri spits out.
Eddie’s breath hitches. His mind suddenly races back to memories from a few years ago. They play almost like a home video. Chris and him were struggling, desperate to find a way out of El Paso after Shannon just up and left them. Evan Buckley-Nash was a surprise. At first Eddie rejected the idea of dating altogether, but then slowly, he fell for him and fell hard. His parents were happy to get rid of him, to try and keep Christopher for themselves. It didn't really work out as planned for his mom. On their wedding day, Evan confessed he had basically purchased Eddie, paying every medical bill pending, every debt he or his parents had in order to ask for his hand in marriage. Eddie was disgusted, heartbroken, and angry.
“He’s in love, Adri.”
“He left Christopher with that monster —”
“Sophia, Adriana, that’s enough. Theo is here, that sweet little boy is all Buck. He’s not a monster is he?”
“See, even mom gets it. Eddie trusts him, why can’t you?”
“It’s not just him I don’t trust.”
Adri meets his eyes and sighs.
“Eddie, would you stop lurking?”
“Adriana, would you stop insulting my husband?”
Sophia walks toward him and touches his arm.
“I’ll go check on Theo.”
Adri crosses her arms as Sophia walks up the stairs. Eddie huffs.
“I know you don’t want me here. I don't want us here either. It’s only until Buck and I can work through this.”
“You better hope he takes you back, Eddie. I don’t know how long your father and I can afford to keep both you and Theo here.”
“Don't you dare think you can try to take one of my kids away. It didn't work out for you the first time."
"Only because you married someone who know what it takes to care for you." His mom spits.
"Buck has given you more than enough money to last you a fucking lifetime.”
His vision blurs, images merging into one another. Their wedding vows, Chris’s cheers behind him. He hears the screaming match that came before when his mom let it slip that they’d lose money if he tried to find Shannon again. Eddie’s head pangs, he closes his eyes and groans. He steps back, trying to open his eyes and finds himself outside, a large field in front of him. Horses neigh behind him.
“Hey you,” slim arms circle his waist. His eyes prickle as he turns and sees Shannon, “you ready to run away with me yet?”
Eddie pushes at her hands and steps away.
“We’ve talked about this,” he finds himself saying, “I’m not leaving.”
Shannon scoffs.
“You were mine. You promised I would be the only one, that I was your forever.”
She steps closer to him, ghosting her lips over his. Tears fall onto his lips, he pushes away again.
“You’re gone. You’re supposed to be dead Shan. And… I love him,” his voice breaks, it’s not the first time he’s said it, it can’t be. The fuzzy feeling around his head telling him that Buck and him whispered I love you before. Those words have been uttered under soft sheets and heavy breaths. He knows that with Buck he started to forget Shannon’s touch, her influence on him. “I would never leave him.”
“He bought you. Came in like some white knight to fix your life, is that what you love? The money or is it the dick up your ass, huh? Is that it? He paid, he might as well enjoy it?”
He huffs out a breath and looks around.
“You know what? Buck knows exactly how to make me writhe underneath him,” he glares at her, his anger rising as if this fight has been long coming, “he’s had me in ways you could never even dream of.”
“You’re a bastard.”
“You left, que no se te olvide. You decided our family wasn’t worth it. You slipped out in the middle of the night with nothing more than a stupid note to show for it.”
Shannon slaps him, her eyes fleeting.
“I left to take care of my mom.”
“Ni tu te la crees. You’re a coward.”
“Maybe, but at least I’m not the one lying to my husband.”
Eddie wants to yell, tell her that it’s not his fault she keeps coming back. That he never wanted her to be here, keeping him in an endless limbo where he can’t give himself entirely to Buck. He wants to hate her for coming here, lying to her son about who she is. The sounds of crutches hitting dirt get louder behind him. Chris. He lets out a breath and turns to him. His son smiles at him before looking behind him.
“Kim, you’re needed inside.”
“Why does the boss wanna see me this early?”
Chris shrugs.
“He saw I was coming out to the stables and asked me if I could send you in.”
Shannon exhales loudly.
“Thanks kiddo.” She tries to place a hand on his shoulder and he steps back, avoiding her touch.
“Whatever.”
Eddie swallows. Shan—Kim, walks ahead and leaves Chris with him. Chris looks up at him and scrunches his brow before smacking him with one of his crutches, hard. Eddie winces at the pain.
“Mijo, what the hell?”
“That’s not mom. It was never going to be mom. Wake up.” Eddie’s head gets fuzzy again, he takes a step back and hits the stable wall. He tries to keep and eye on Chris, his form only getting more unfocused. “You are allowed be happy. You can choose him.”
The second time Eddie wakes up, it’s on the floor of his own house, a blanket twisted around his legs and the TV playing Lo Que La Vida Me Robo. His phone buzzes off the edge of the coffee table. He picks it up to see a few missed calls and nonsensical messages from Buck and Chris. He yawns, kicking the blanket completely off his feet and standing. He dials Chris first after double checking the time, he should still be on lunch.
“Finally,” Chris answers, “Dad, I’ve been calling you all lunch.”
Eddie rubs at his eyes.
“Everything okay? You need me to pick you up?”
“Nah. I’m good, been inside all day.”
“Make sure to tell your aide if you have any pain. Don’t hide it.”
“Dad —”
“Okay, okay. I trust you.”
“Has Buck called you?”
“Yeah, I just…wait, did he call you? What’s happening?”
“Dad, he’s fine — for the most part. Just call him.”
“That doesn’t really help me mijo.”
A long bell sounds in the distance. Chris groans.
“Gotta go, call Buck!”
The FaceTime tone rings out as he picks up the couch cushions and finds the control. The TV pauses on Alejandro and Monserrat sitting on their couch, their arms around one another.
“Eds!” Bucks starts, Eddie carries his phone down to his room and props it up on his night stand. “You finally awake?”
Eddie pulls on his pants and looks at Buck. He’s wet, glistening like he’s been running around in the rain all day. He swallows. His mind fills with the blurred images he thinks might be from the dream. The soft exploration of each others bodies and the drama put on by each of their families. It was a dream, just a dream. Buck pulls the camera closer, leaning him on what Eddie can guess is his window sill. He’s taking of his shirt and wringing it out over the sink.
“Were you running in the rain?” His voice cracks as he asks.
Buck looks up at him, his curls sticking to his forehead. A wide smile takes over his face as Theo giggles in the other room.
“Theo wanted to play in puddles.”
“I want pictures of that.”
Buck laughs. Eddie’s phone dings a minute later, videos and pictures of them running around the backyard fill their message thread. He walks into his closet and grabs a hoodie he knows is Buck’s and slips it on. He steps back into the camera frame, Buck’s is leaning down and trying to clean Theo’s face, tiny splatters of dirt coming off his rosy cheeks. Buck pokes at his sides and lifts Theo into his arms.
“Dadddd,” Theo squeals as Buck spins him, “put me down!!”
“I see why you called.” Eddie smiles softly at them, grabbing his phone and making his way out of the house.
“I called Chris earlier to check in and I think — Eddie, fuck. I can’t talk to you about this over the phone.”
Eddie nods.
“I’ll be there soon. Fair warning, I just woke up so caffeine is needed.”
Buck only smiles. “I’ll have your coffee ready for you.”
He’s laying on his couch with Theo tuckered out on his chest when Eddie walks in. Theo is sound asleep and Buck is…well he’s a wet dream. A fucking wet dream. His hair is fully curled and messy, his cheeks rosy from the rain, and the hoodie he’s wearing is riding up just enough on his torso to show the softness of his belly. Eddie wants to lean down and…he’s not actually your husband…he swallows and turns to the kitchen. There’s a warm cup of coffee waiting for him on the table, cinnamon and brown sugar hitting Eddie’s tongue as he gazes at Buck’s relaxed state. Flashes of his dream come back to him, Buck’s hands over him, the weight of his body as they sway in a kitchen unlike either of their own. He blinks.
“None of that was real…” he whispers to himself. He runs a hand down his face and sits at the table, checking his email when he feels small hand pull at him. He looks up and sees Theo rubbing his eyes.
“Hey, you all done with your nap?”
Theo bullies his way into his arms wordlessly and presses his head into his shoulder. Eddie holds him as he stands and starts to slowly rock him. He doesn’t know what comes over him as he starts to hum softly, one of the songs of that stupid telenovela. Theo sighs, his breathing evening out. Eddie walks toward Theo’s room and sets him down on his bed. He waits, watching as Theo stretches into the bed and settles. He smiles and steps back toward the kitchen, only to find Buck waiting for him.
“He made you carry him to bed, didn’t he?” Buck say as he blows into his own cup of coffee.
Eddie nods.
“Not even a hi, just climbed into my arms.”
He sees Buck put the cup down and steps toward him, his stomach starts to flutter. Buck leans against the counter, their shoulders brushing. Eddie’s stomach, the traitor, continues its fluttering. Eddie clears his throat, trying hard not to let this feeling spread any further.
“Was today the first time it happened?”
Buck smiles and shakes his head.
“No, I apparently just haven’t heard it before? When I asked him what made him want to start calling me that, he just said Chris does it too.”
Eddie inhales sharply around his sip of coffee, coughing as Buck frantically tries to rub at his back.
“He what?”
Buck stares at him sheepishly.
“I thought at first Theo just misinterpreted you know, heard Chris talking to you. But I called him and he laughed at me. He told me I was stupid if I thought I wasn’t one of his dads at this point.”
Eddie wipes at a tear and looks at Buck. His cheeks are flushed and they’re something in the way he’s looking at Eddie, like Chris said more that what he’s telling him. Chris’s voice echoes in his head, you can choose him, he swallows.
“You are,” he nudges at Buck with his arm, “we don’t talk about it, but you have to know you mean the world to Chris, to me.”
“I didn’t really know what I was to him. I knew our relationship is different from the way I act with Jee, but I never wanted to ask, to risk me overstepping.”
Eddie feels that familiar flutter again and he doesn’t really want to stop it this time.
“Are you okay with it?”
“With Chris calling me dad?”
“And Theo. Chris loves you and he’d stop if you asked him but Theo might have a harder time understanding why you don’t want him to.”
Buck lets out a breath.
“I’ve always wanted to have kids I get to raise with a partner,” Buck looks at him and Eddie can’t help the hope that stirs within him, “part of me feels like I woke up in a strange dream this morning. I know it’s not, but it’s like I keep waiting for the rain to suddenly wash it all away.”
The soft sounds of rain outside start again and Eddie moves to the sink to put his cup down and turns back to Buck, motioning for him to follow. It’s the craziest thing he’ll ever do, but Buck deserves this, he deserves this. Eddie takes his phone out of his pocket, sets it on the table and opens the sliding door to the backyard.
“What are you doing?”
“Come on, Buckley, time for a reality check.” Eddie steps out into the rain, the droplets weighing his hair down. He can see Buck scrambling to take his phone out of his hoodie before he walks out barefoot.
“You are insane.”
“Still think it's a dream?"
"No." Buck laughs, the rain painting his hoodie darker. Eddie holds out his hand, Buck scrunches his brow and takes it. He pulls Buck closer and takes a hand up to hold Buck’s face gently.
"I woke up today after my head decided to follow the plot of a telenovela in my dreams to convince me to finally say something.”
“Eddie —”
“Let me do this before I chicken out?”
Buck nods, wide eyed. Eddie stroke his thumb along Buck’s cheekbone.
“I held onto Shannon for so long and I know part of me is always going to wish Chris still had her. But I want to be happy with the kids, the partner I get to raise them with,” Buck’s breath hitches, Eddie smiles as the words get caught in his throat, “I don't want it to just be in my head. We deserve to have this, Buck.”
“What are you saying?”
“Te amo. Te amo con todas las fuerzas de mi alma.”
Buck smiles at him wide.
“Did you just steal your love confession from the telenovela I told you not to watch ahead of me?"
He laughs.
“That depends, your response gonna be the same?”
Eddie waits, the rain falling on them slowly, like it was made for this moment. Buck’s eyes flick down to his lips. The hands at his waist tighten ever so slightly and Eddie lean in to kiss Buck, not his lips, not yet. His birthmark is first, then his cheek, his jaw, the corner of his mouth, then finally, Buck takes control and pulls him in. Like the cage within him has been unlocked, the butterflies explode out. Eddie’s lips tingle when the separate, breath warm between them, tiny water droplets painting Buck’s eyelashes. Eddie smiles and pulls him back in, not caring that they’re getting drenched out here, only that this is their telenovela moment. This is the scene they play in the credits with a romantic song overlaid. This kiss is the start of the rest of their lives. Buck runs a hand from his waist over the small of his back and pulls. Eddie groans. The rain stops slowly, then all at once. They pull apart and stare up at the sky, the parting clouds letting the sun shine through. They make their way inside, giggling as Buck pulls him toward the bathroom, only stopping to check on Theo’s sleeping form.
“Well?”
“Esto, es lo más hermoso, que me has dado además de nuestro hijo. Well, hijos now.”
Eddie hums into another kiss, this time under the warm spray of their shared shower.