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Eddie couldn’t have been stabbed at a better time, not that being stabbed was a great experience for him or anyone else involved but it’s given him a lot of free time which Buck was more than happy to cash in on seeing as he’d just taken in Theo and he claimed Eddie owed him thousands of babysitting hours.
So a routine was formed where Buck would drop Theo off on his way into work and they’d have dinner together when he came to pick him back Theo up after the shift and depending on how late things ran into the evening there would be occasions where they’d end up staying over at the Diaz Household for the night.
And with every passing day Eddie felt himself feeling looser than he’d ever felt before, it wasn’t until a Thursday morning two weeks into their arrangement that the reason why finally clicked into place.
“Eddie,” Theo poked a finger softly into the apple of Eddie’s cheek in an attempt to wake him up. The man blinked awake slowly taking in the scene before him, Theo was perched in front of his face on the bed and Chris stood behind him with an apologetic look on his face after having clearly been roped into wherever this is going.
“Morning boys,” Eddie mumbled as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
“I’m hungwy,” Theo pouted.
“Well that’s just unacceptable isn’t it,” Eddie overaggerated as he sat up in the bed, “why don’t you two take a seat in the living room and I will be right out to make some pancakes?” he offered.
“YAY, THANK YOU EDDIE!” Theo exclaimed, leaping to his feet and bouncing atop the mattress.
“Careful Theo,” Eddie caught him mid bounce and lowered him gently to sit on the edge of the bed where Chris voluntarily shuffled forward to help ensure he slid off and landed on the ground safely and all of a sudden he felt his heart cease in his chest.
Things just felt so right, so domestic. Like this had been his life forever and not just the past couple of weeks. Before him was everything he could’ve ever asked for, well almost everything. Buck wasn’t here, he was at work. Eddie couldn’t help but lay a moment longer, as the boys laughed their way out to the hall, thinking about how the only thing missing from this perfect moment was Buck laying beside him witnessing the same.
Oh
Oh
He wanted Buck to wake up next to him, he wanted lazy summer mornings being woken by their kids, he didn’t want to only have this whilst he was too injured to return to active duty - he wanted it for the rest of his life.
And that thought was terrifying to sink in all at once, but no panic came. The idea of raising a child with Shannon drove him to Afghanistan, the idea of marrying Ana gave him a major health scare, and the idea of even just sleeping with Marisol became impossible after finding out she used to be a nun.
But the idea of being with Buck as a co-parent, a husband, a lover. None of that frightened him, if anything it relieved 3 decades worth of burden from him.
Wanting Buck like that wasn’t some anxiety inducing problem, it was the solution to years of wondering why he wasn’t like the other boys or why he couldn’t make it work with a seemingly perfect woman. Buck was the answer to every prayer that never left his lips, loving Buck was his destination and Eddie’s just glad to be off autopilot and now taking full reign of the wheel.
Unfortunately for his train of thought there is a disruption on the track in the form of the two hungry children once again shouting his name in hopes of getting the pancakes they were promised. Pulling himself back to the present he shucked off his covers and headed to the living room where the boys were sitting.
“Buck won’t be happy to hear you’re starving us,” Chris teased as the kids followed Eddie to the kitchen and once again the man breathed a sigh of comfort at how easily Buck had been centered in Chris’ life.
“Buck doesn’t need to know,” Eddie replied with a laugh as he helped Theo onto a seat at the kitchen table.
“We might need something to keep us silent,” Chris bargained for the two of them as he took his own seat on the opposite side. Eddie couldn’t keep the smile off his face if he tried at how well Chris adjusted to having another kid around, deeper there’s an ache in his heart mourning the sibling he could’ve had if things worked out differently with Shannon. At least he now has Theo, another wonderful thing Buck’s given the Diaz family.
“And what would that be?” Eddie asked over his shoulder as he rifled through the cupboard for the instant pancake mix Buck insisted they pick up for these mornings to save their kids being subjected to Eddie’s idea of cooking.
“There’s a new video game that Denny’s been talking about,” Chris answered.
“Not hearing anything for Theo in there mijo,” Eddie pointed out, flicking on the stove and preparing his pan.
“What about build-a-bear?” Chris suggested, and maybe it’s the high of realizing your best friend is your ideal partner first thing in the morning that’s got him in such a good mood but Eddie really can’t find anything else to say to the suggestion that yes.
“Okay, so we’ll have these pancakes and then we can go to the mall,” Eddie replied, pouring the first of the mixture into the pre-heated pan.
“YAY!” Theo exclaimed, thumping his fists into the table.
“And maybe we can swing by the firehouse and see Buck on the way back?” Eddie added hoping the kids are just as keen as he is to see Buck.
“Really?” Chris enthused.
“Yeah, I’m sure he’s missing you guys with the extra shifts he’s taking to cover for my medical leave,” Eddie answered as he flipped the first pancake over.
“And you’re missing him,” Chris mumbled to himself with a laugh.
“Yes,” Eddie replied back sharply as he plated the first pancake before moving on to the next.
“Are you making shapes?” Theo asked when Eddie placed the pile of finished pancakes onto the table between them.
“Yes,” Eddie answered, “circles,” he slipped two onto Theo’s plate and then the same to Chris’.
“Circle is a strong word for this,” Chris remarked, reaching for the bottle of syrup.
“I can change my mind on the mall,” Eddie pointed out as he helped Theo dish up his toppings.
“I’m sure they’ll taste great,” Chris smiled, his father smiled back accepting the attempt.
They finished their breakfast and Eddie abandoned the plates in the sink keen to get Theo in the car before the sugar from breakfast hit his system, the boys always do a good job at entertaining each other on the backseat so Eddie was free to lose himself in his thoughts. Namely one thought - Buck.
He wants Buck, he knows that much now and there’s really only one obstacle in his way which is needing to tell him that. The words of a priest echo in the back of his mind telling him to choose juice or more so choose joy. He just doesn’t really know how.
On the odd occasion where he had attempted to woo women before he’d been relying heavily on his looks and the whole war hero/firefighter thing but this was a different ball game. There’s a number of concerns, firstly the obvious is that Buck is a man and Eddie has not had much, or really any, experience flirting with men. Not that he had a whole lot of experience flirting with women either but he had least had a child to show as proof that he could flirt with a woman enough for the relationship to get physical.
And sure, he is a man so he has some idea what a man wants from a potential suitor but this is where Eddie reaches his second concern that Buck is someone far more experienced in just about every dating field having dated more people and more genders than Eddie had.
The third concern is objectively the worst and that’s the notion that he may find the perfect words to tell Buck how he feels and find that he couldn’t even imagine feeling the same way. Ultimately it’s not something he can prepare for and all he can hope is that when the time comes Buck will feel the same thing he can.
“Dad,” Chris called out, snapping Eddie’s mind back into the present as he realised he was now parked at the mall.
“Right, are you alright with your crutches?” Eddie looked back at his son.
“Should be,” Chris replied.
“Great, Theo we’re going to need to pop your reins on okay?” Eddie turned to face the other boy.
“YES,” Theo exclaimed, Buck was initially resistant when Eddie suggested getting him toddler reins but the boy loves them as does Eddie who is very grateful to not need to chase after him anymore.
Their first stop was the game store where Chris managed to swindle Eddie’s good mood into 2 games being bought and Theo got a Mario plushy despite both Diaz’ constant reminders that they were literally going to build-a-bear to buy him a teddy bear immediately after.
And boy did Theo’s eyes light up when he saw the store, wall to wall of teddy options on one side and displays of outfits on the others, Eddie felt the boy tug on the reins as he fought hard against the tension to breach the entryway of the store.
“Gentle gusanito, you gotta be calm in the store okay?” Eddie bargained.
“Sowwy Eddie,” Theo pouted.
“Nothing to be sorry about Theo, just remember to use gentle hands in there,” Eddie reminded him using what he’d learnt from the half dozen gentle parenting books Buck got from the library, “now are you ready to go make a best friend?”
“Chwis is my best fwend,” Theo shrugged and if Eddie’s heart exploded on the spot in that moment he doesn’t think anyone would be all that surprised.
“That’s really great Theo,” Eddie replied, choking back the sob lodged in his throat, “why don’t we make you a second best friend, he suggested.
“You’re my second best fwend,” Theo explained with a tut in annoyance at how much Eddie was struggling to get with the program.
“Right, do you have a third best friend?” Eddie pinched the spot between his eyebrows.
“Nope,” Theo grinned.
“Okay let’s go in there and make you a third best friend,” Eddie pointed towards the store. Theo rushed forth as much as the restraint would allow as Eddie tailored his pace to match Chris’ as he’d come accustomed to over the years.
“Was I like this at his age?” Chris asked watching on as Theo rushed back and forth looking at his options, a pang of guilt his Eddie at the memory of how little he knew Chris at this age and maybe that was a conversation they needed to have to see how much Eddie being away affected his son - but this was not the right moment for that so he opted for an easier answer.
“You were never this fast,” Eddie joked, “what are you thinking Theo?” he asked the other boy.
“FIREFIGHTER!” Theo yelled back as he pointed at the tiny turnouts on the costume racks.
“Gotta pick a bear first kid,” Eddie pointed out, walking over and sweeping the child into his arms knowing this will go a lot smoother if he is unable to wander off.
“Ummmmmmm, this is hard,” Theo complained, collapsing against Eddie’s chest and yeah maybe taking the kid that can’t pick a bedtime story to the choice store was not the best move. However, Eddie is a man who’s had experience with Buck ‘I have nothing to wear’ Buckley and knows how to handle his decision paralysis so given that Theo is half his DNA this will hopefully work.
“That’s okay bub, let’s start easy. What animal do you want? They’ve got dogs, cats, bears?” Eddie offered trying to reduce the size of the question to make it more digestible for the boy.
“Bear!” Theo excitedly pointed to the array of bears.
“Okay, and which colour do you want the bear to be?” Eddie asked gently side-stepping to be stood before their options.
“That one,” Theo answered with outstretched grabby hands to the tan bear, Eddie picked it up for them and carried the bear and Theo over to the stuffing machine where Chris was waiting for them, “Look Chwis” Theo tapped Eddie’s chest until he showed the bear carcass to Chris.
“That’s a great choice Theo,” Chris replied.
“Hi there, I’m Blair and I’ll be helping you make your bear today, do you mind if I grab that?” the worker asked, introducing herself, Theo nodded in agreement and she took the bear from Eddie, “what’s your name?” she asked.
“Theo,” the boy answered.
“Thank you Theo,” Blair replied, gesturing the three of them closer to her work space, “Firstly would you like to add a sound? Your options are on the screen or you can record your own,” she advised tapping the monitor next to her.
“Hmmmm,” Theo let out as he tapped his way through the cacophony of sounds.
“Hey Theo, what if I recorded something so you can hear from me when you’re at home?” Chris suggested shuffling next to the other boy, Eddie couldn’t stop a solitary tear rolling down his cheek this time.
“PWEASEEE,” Theo enthused, “Can you say goodnight,” he requested and Eddie shared a smile with the worker as she set up the recording.
“It’s always so nice to see siblings with an age gap get on this well,” Blair remarked, moving on too quickly for Eddie to have chance to correct her - not that he was really planning to, “that’s ready for you now, just tap the play button when you’re ready and the stop button when you’re done.”
“WAIT!” Theo shouted just before Chris’ finger collided with the screen.
“What? What’s wrong?” Eddie panicked.
“I want you to talk as well,” Theo tilted his head all the way back to look up at Eddie with a smile large enough to ease out any panic the previous outburst had brought the man.
“Sure thing bud, let me just scooch in there next to Chris,” Eddie knelt down between the boys, “ready?” he asked and both boys nodded.
Chris pressed the button and began to speak first, “Goodnight Theo,” he began looking to his dad to signal for him to continue.
“Sweet dreams mijo, love you lots,” Eddie added, speaking the first thing that came to mind having not been given much chance to prepare. Maybe in hindsight it’s a little overly familiar for the arrangement they have in place but it’s not exactly wrong either and Theo seemed happy enough as he slammed his little fist onto the stop button.
“Perfect, and did you want to add a scent?” Blair gestured towards the selection before them, Theo contemplated for a moment picking up each one and inhaling deeply to test them all.
“No, thank you,” Theo replied.
“Okay well now it’s time to bring your friend to life, if you want to just walk around this way,” Blair directed them to stand beside the stuffing machine’s nozzle as she began the filling process, “now I have a very important job for you Theo, can you pick out a heart to give to your new friend?”
Theo rifled through the box of hearts for a considerable length of time given that there’s only 2 colour options in there but he eventually retrieved a red one and held out towards Eddie, “kiss it pwease,” he continued to reach up as high as he could with the little fabric heart until the man took it to his lips and placed a gentle kiss against it trying to ignore however many grubby hands must’ve rustled through that box.
He gave it back to Theo so he could place it inside the bear where Blair then made haste to close up the stitching before passing the completed bear over to Theo. The young boy was excited to get back to the costume shopping he’d been interrupted from when they arrived at the store but Eddie stood still looking at the boy and the bear.
“Are you alright dad?” Chris asked.
“Do you think Buck would like one of these?” Eddie mused as the cogs turned in his head.
“Uh, probably,” Chris replied, looking on at him with confusion, “is this to do with that weird mood you’ve been in today?” He continued both Diaz’s feeling grateful Theo now has the bear to keep him occupied.
“Yeah, I…I realised something this morning,” Eddie eased into the conversation.
“Is it that you’re in love with Buck?” Chris asked nonchalantly, sounding as if he was looking to close out the conversation sooner rather than later.
“Well I can’t say I have put those exact words together in my mind but yeah I mean I um, I am in love with him,” Eddie trained his breathing as he looked on at his son waiting for any sign that this would be an issue for him.
“Have you told him?” Chris asked.
“Considering that I only realised this morning no I have not, I was thinking maybe the bear could tell him when we see him after this,” Eddie explained.
“You could just tell him,” Chris pointed out.
“Or the bear could tell him,” Eddie repeated.
“Whatever you want to do,” Chris shook his head, “I’m happy for you dad,” he added.
“Thanks mijo, you think you’d be okay with us together - if that’s what Buck wants of course?” Eddie stammered.
“You’ve basically been together my whole life, at least I won’t need to try and explain your relationship to my friends anymore,” Chris rolled his eyes.
“Do your friends think Buck and I are together already?” Eddie questioned.
“Yup,” Chris nodded, “always very surprised when I explain you’re not,” he snickered.
“Damn, well let’s make those assumptions a reality huh,” Eddie joked, “Theo, do you mind if we head back over there and make one for Buck as well? We’ll still get your firefighter bits just after we’ve made Buck’s bear,” he assured the boy.
“YES, ONE FOR BUCK!” Theo cheered, “What are you going to get him?”
“Uhh, ah-ha, this one,” Eddie proclaimed holding up a golden retriever, “perfect.”
“Welcome back,” Blair greeted as they approached her once again, “is this one for you sweetie?” she asked, directing her question towards Chris.
“No, it’s for Buck!” Theo interjected as if this gave the woman any more context.
“Dad’s partner,” Chris added before Eddie had a chance to give a more platonic and technically accurate answer. He’s not sure if his son is throwing him under the bus like this for the fun of watching him squirm or if he’s just retaliating against this woman thinking he a teenager would be buying a teddy bear but he does know there’ll be words about this later.
“Oh how lovely, did you want to record your own message again for this one?” Blair asked.
“Yes please, no scent,” Eddie answered, getting ahead of the second question knowing Buck would be as overwhelmed with a scented bear in his bed as Theo would’ve been if he’d chosen one.
“Perfect, you know how this works now so just record it when you’re ready,” Blair advised and Eddie crouched down in front of it again with his hand shaking as it reached for the play button.
“I love you Buck,” Eddie spoke softly, holding back any anxiety that may bleed into his voice.
“LOVE YOU BUCK,” Theo yelled towards the mic with most of it being cut off as Eddie’s finger pad made contact with the stop button having not expected the additional input. Another light bulb blinked on in Eddie’s mind as he looked over at the boy whose happy expression was slowly shifting into something guilty.
“Are we able to reset the recording?” Eddie asked.
“Sowwy Eddie,” Theo said softly.
“Don’t be sorry Gusanito, just want to make sure your whole message is caught on there don’t we,” Eddie reassured through the realisation that Buck would treasure this even more with the boy on there.
“It’s erased for you, ready whenever you are to start over,” Blair advised with a smile.
“Thank you, Chris, did you want to be on the recording as well?” Eddie offered hoping to have both of their sons included.
“Are you sure?” Chris asked, shuffling forward towards the microphone.
Of course, I want this to be really special for him,” Eddie replied softly, “Alright so I will go first and then you two can say what you want Buck to hear,” he offered and the boys nodded so once more he pressed play, “I love you Buck.”
“LOVE YOU BUCK,” Chris and Theo both exclaimed together with the older of the boys hitting the stop button with a smile.
“Perfect, he’s going to love it,” Eddie said quietly under his breath as they rounded the machine once more, this time Eddie selected the heart placing a kiss into the fabric once again and slotting it amongst the inner fluff ready for the stitching to be pulled tight.
Now with both Eddie and Theo’s bears complete they finally made their way back over to the costume racks so Theo could get his bear turnouts, the older man opted out of buying any outfits or accessories but he will be grabbing a gift card at checkout so Buck can come back and pick out his own.
Finally they finished up at the naming station Eddie went first simply choosing to call his bear Buck after the man it was going to be bought for. Theo sat down at the computer next with Eddie’s arms bracketing him on either side to type what he dictates as the name.
“I want to call him Eddie,” Theo stated.
“You could call him Eddie Bear,” Chris pointed out.
“Are you sure Theo?” Eddie checked.
“Yes! Eddie Bear!” Theo cheered clearly on board with Chris’ addition to the name.
“Okay, well I am very honored bud,” Eddie typed the name into the computer and sent it to print alongside his own one for Buck. Once both bears were boxed up and paid for they headed straight back to the car ready to head on to the 118 Firehouse.
They made one stop on the way at a drive through coffee place to grab juice for the boys and coffees for Buck and Eddie along with some pastries to have once they got there, pulling into the parking lot they could see that the apparatus bay was empty of all vehicles.
“Looks like it’ll be a little wait before Buck’s back,” Eddie noted to the kids, “so grab anything you need from the car to keep yourselves entertained okay,” he suggested. Theo grabbed his new bear and decided that would be enough for him, Chris passed Eddie a couple of Theo’s books from the chair pocket knowing one source of entertainment is never enough for the boy and he grabbed his nintendo switch along with one of his new games.
They waited up in the loft where Eddie flicked the TV onto Bluey to keep the younger of the two boys engaged as he impatiently waited for Buck’s return with the bear box tucked under the table and their coffees placed on top. Two episodes passed before the sound of the firetruck backing into the bay filtered in, Eddie stayed where he was sat with the kids finding his palms suddenly uncomfortably sweaty. The hum of conversation began to filter from the trucks as it came into earshot of Eddie.
“It’s his truck,” the first voice insisted - Buck’s, “Eddie’s here,” he continued excitedly.
“Get changed before you go upstairs Buckley,” another voice chastised - Chimney, “No turnouts in the loft,” he reminded.
“Really,” Buck whined.
“It’d be done by now if you just went and did it instead of being combatant,” Chimney pointed out.
“Ugh fine,” Buck grumbled and the sound of footsteps got further away.
“Hey guys,” Hen greeted as the first member of the team upstairs, “long time no see stranger,” she joked, coming over and pulling Eddie into a hug.
“You know I’d be here if I could Hen,” Eddie remarked, “not much longer now.”
“So to what do we owe the pleasure,” Hen asked.
“We’re here to see Buck!” Theo answered.
“How silly of me to think there’d be any other reason for the visit,” Hen joked as Buck bounced off the top step into the loft, “I’ll leave you be,” she commented, giving Buck a tap on the arm as they passed by.
“BUCK!!!” Theo shouted loud enough for the whole firehouse to hear.
“Hey little man, what are you guys doing here?” Buck smiled impossibly wide looking up at Chris and then Eddie with his question.
“We missed you,” Eddie answered, locking his eyes firmly onto Buck’s, “and we got you some things.”
“I can see that,” Buck replied, grabbing the iced latte from the table and helping himself to a pastry from the treat box.
“Sorry if it’s a little watered down, bad timing with you guys being out on a call,” Eddie apologised, “how was it?”
“MVC, everyone was fine, it just took a while to handle extraction,” Buck answered as best he could alongside keeping it family friendly for the kids sake, “It’s still good, thank you. How’s your day been?” he asked as he took a seat between Chris and Eddie.
“Good, dad made pancakes,” Chris answered.
“The premade mix?” Buck confirmed with the boy.
“He’s learnt his lesson,” Chris assured.
“And we went to the mall,” Theo added, holding his new bear out as he crawled across Eddie to give his bear to Buck, “His name's Eddie,” he explained.
“Eddie Bear,” Eddie smiled, “give it a squeeze,” he told Buck with a soft nudge of shoulder into shoulder and, well, Buck’s never been one to not do what Eddie asks him to so he squeezed and the speaker came to life.
Goodnight Theo, Sweet dreams mijo, love you lots.
“That’s-that’s really sweet,” Buck passed the bear back to Theo as he battled an impending flood of tears from how grateful he is that he’s been able to share his own found family with the young boy at a time he needed people to love him the most.
“We got you one as well,” Chris remarked, ensuring his dad would have no space to get cold feet on this overdue moment.
“Oh you guys didn’t need to do that,” Buck tried to defend but Eddie held up his arms in defense.
“We wanted to,” Eddie replied before turning his attention over to the kitchen where more of the team had now filtered up the stairs all doing their absolute best to act like they aren’t eavesdropping, “Hey Harry, Ravi, do you two mind just showing the kids around the bay for a bit?”
“Uh I think they’ve seen it before man-oof,” Harry commented before Ravi elbowed him in the ribs.
“What he’s trying to say is we would be happy to,” Ravi glared at Harry as they walked over to the couches.
“Who wants to hang out with uncle Ravi and uncle Harry,” Eddie enthused.
“He’s three years older than me, how is he my uncle,” Chris snarked as he took his crutches from his dad.
“Now, now, respect your elders,” Harry retorted with a stupid smirk.
“Play nice boys,” Buck shot back as Ravi and Harry led the kids downstairs leaving Buck and Eddie alone on the couch.
“Hi,” Eddie broke the silence once the kids were gone.
“Hi,” Buck replied with a furrowed brow, “what’s going on?”
“I got you a bear,” Eddie looked on as confusion continued to plague Buck’s expression.
“So I heard,” Buck leant back against the couch cushions as he tried to look for where it was hidden. Once spotting the box under the table he continued, “do I get to see it?”
“Well since you asked so nicely,” Eddie teased as he leaned over to retrieve the box and pass it over to the other man, “this one has a recording inside as well,” he explained as Buck unfolded the box and fished the plush teddy from inside.
Eddie swiped the empty box to one side to ensure he did not lose any of Buck’s reaction as he spun the bear around in his hands, “is it a golden retriever for a reason?” he asked.
“Perhaps,” Eddie replied, “reminded me of you.”
“You really didn’t need to do this, any of this okay. You have to at least let me pay you back for this and Theo’s bear,” Buck pleaded.
“No, all you need to do is accept them. I’ve also got you a gift card so you can pick out your own outfit for the bear,” Eddie added, fishing the card from his pocket and passing it over to the other man.
“Seriously this is too much, you’re already helping take care of Theo over the summer - whilst healing from a stab wound - and now you’re buying him and me things, you don’t need to be doing this Eddie,” Buck shook his head giving Eddie a grumble when he forced the giftcard into his pocket.
“Nothing is ever too much for you,” Eddie said softly, “you deserve all this and so much more,” he continued smiling as he watched the strain leave Buck’s face.
“Eddie, you can’t just say those kinds of things,” Buck swallowed hard as the praise settled in his heart.
“Why not? You deserve to hear them,” Eddie shrugged back, “squeeze the bear Buck,” he nodded down to the plush dog in the man's hand.
“What does it say?” Buck asked, holding the bear loose enough to not accidentally push down on the speaker.
“Press it and find out,” Eddie insisted, “please,” he flashed his eyes in the way he knows Buck is incapable of saying no to, and the tilt of the other man's head and outward sigh shows Eddie that he’s won the battle.
“Fine,” Buck relented, squeezing the internal speaker firmly until the voice came out.
I love you. Love you Buck.
What followed was silence for a moment, no words spoken between the two men as Buck continued to stare down into his lap at the bear. No noise came from the kitchen and wider loft area until Eddie broke his view of Buck to shoot a glare at the surrounding members of the 118 until they went back to doing whatever it was they needed to be doing.
“Do you like it?” Eddie asked nervously as he turned his attention back to the man next to him.
“Do I like it,” Buck scoffed before tilting his head up to allow his gaze to meet the warm brown eyes looking on at him in adoration, “God Eddie, I love this, I love what you’ve done today, I love that Theo is so comfortable with you, I love everything you’ve done for me recently and honestly I just love you so much and I really need to know if we’re saying this to each other in the same way because I just don’t know how much more of this I can take if we’re not,” he rambled.
“Buck, I woke up this morning and I was hit with this feeling that something was missing and that something was you. The kids came into my room to wake me up for breakfast and it all felt so right, but it would’ve felt perfect if you were laying beside me and from that moment I’ve come to realise that this is what I’ve been looking for all this time - you have always been the one for me,” Eddie placed the bear on the couch between them as he took Buck’s hands into his own, “I love you and I love this family we’ve built without even trying to and look I literally only figured this out this morning and I probably need some time to really understand what it means for me personally but I just don’t want to waste anymore time not being with you whilst I’m getting there,” he continued.
“Take as long as you need Eddie, I’m all in regardless,” Buck smiled, “I’m always going to be yours no matter how.”
Eddie slid one hand up to sit along the length of Buck’s jawline as he leaned in to close the distance between them, as their noses brushed and their breath became shared the shrill screech of the alarm filled the firehouse giving them both the loudest reminder possible that Buck was actively at work right now.
“Ugh,” Buck complained, pulling himself to his feet, “Sorry.”
“We’ll be waiting here when you get back,” Eddie replied following Buck down the stairs to relieve Ravi and Harry of the kids so as to not impede their response time, “We can finish this then,” he smiled.
“I will hold you to that,” Buck called out across the bay as he ran to his uniform hook.
“You better,” Eddie shouted back.