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Buck’s at the farmers market today. He’s not looking for anything specific, he just likes to come here on some days. Just to look, to see what stalls are here.
He had just finished looking at a handmade jewelry stall. Definitely overpriced. Buck bought something for all the women he knows.
The price was outrageous, but when he first thought to get something for Maddie, he felt bad not getting something for Jee, then Athena, then May, then suddenly all the names of every girl or woman flooded his mind.
Now, he’s at a stand where they’re selling bars of soap. Buck’s not really interested in buying any new soap, but it doesn’t hurt to look.
“Hi, are you looking for anything in particular today?” The man running the stall asks. He’s an older man, looks to be in his late fifties, early sixties.
“Oh uh, nothing specific, I’m just looking.”
“Is there a scent that you’re drawn to?” He prods.
“Cedar.” He blurts out.
The first thing that pops up in Buck’s mind is cedar. Which—cedar is not the scent that Buck usually uses. It’s the scent that Eddie uses.
“Mmm, good choice.” He picks up one of the cedar scented soaps and starts to unwrap it. He hands it over to Buck.
Buck takes it, he reads ‘Into the Woods,’ on the package, then brings it up to his nose to smell it. It smells just like him.
“Any reason you chose cedar?” The man asks, watching Buck continue to smell the soap.
Buck moves his head in a so-so manner, “No, not necessarily. It’s just a nice smell.” Buck says, handing the soap back.
“So, you weren’t thinking of your…significant other?”
Well, no… Because Buck doesn’t have one of those. And why did the guy pause before he said significant other? Does Buck give LGBTQ? Not that that's a bad thing, but it just seems a little stereotypical, no?
“I could tell you were thinking of them.” He speaks again, interrupting Buck’s thoughts. “Here.” He says, giving Buck the soap he opened earlier. “Give it to them.”
“Sir—”
“Mark. You can call me Mark.”
“Mark, I can’t just take this from you.” Buck tries to hand the bar back.
“Sure you can. I’m giving it to you.”
“No, man, I—” Buck picks up another bar, this one is orange scented, ‘Orange Blossom,’ specifically. A scent that Buck uses. “I’ll buy this then.”
Mark smiles, “You’re a nice guy.” He says as Buck gives him a ten-dollar bill.
“I try to be, keep the change. Have a good day.”
“Thank you, you too. I hope the person you’re thinking about enjoys the soap.”
Buck ducks his head and smiles, “Yeah, me too.”
Buck decides to run a couple of errands before he goes home. Eddie has been on his mind since Mark implied that he was his boyfriend or husband. And now he can’t stop thinking of Eddie as his husband.
Eddie, who is at home with their kids—no. At Buck’s house with Buck’s kid and his own kid. Because they do not share them, because they are not together.
It just feels like they are.
Ever since Buck got Theo, Eddie and Chris have been over a lot. It kind of seems ike the Diazes have moved in.
The old guest room was turned into Theo’s bedroom, and the other room—the home office—got switched to the new guest room.
Said new guest room has basically become Christopher’s room. Eddie sleeps on the couch, sometimes in the bed with Buck when he’s really tired. He’s clingy too.
Buck loves when he’s really tired.
When Buck gets home, it’s about 5:30. He left at one, but he did text Eddie to tell him that he would be home a little later because he was doing other things.
When he opens the door, no one’s in the living room, but he can hear a faint rustling noise coming from the kitchen.
Buck walks in, seeing Eddie at the kitchen island, elbow deep in a bag of tacos from the place that just opened down the street from Buck’s house.
“Eddie?”
Eddie looks up, “Oh, hey. You hungry?” He asks, pulling out a taco.
“Yeah, but I could’ve made dinner.” Buck places his bags from the market on the island.
Eddie continues taking food out, “I mean, you didn’t say when you’d be back. I wanted to be safe.”
Thinking back, Buck did say that he’d be back later. He didn’t give a specific time.
“Thanks for getting food.”
“It’s no problem, Buck.”
“Where are the boys?” Buck asks while unpacking the stuff he brought home. Taking out the fruit he bought first.
“In Christopher’s room, Chris is trying to teach Theo how to play Mortal Kombat rather than clicking random buttons.”
Buck pauses as he takes the jewelry out, “Should we be letting a four-year-old play Mortal Kombat?”
“Wait, no, not Mortal Kombat, the other one. The one with Superman and the other ones.” Eddie snaps his fingers, trying to remember.
“Injustice?”
“Yes. That.”
“Oh. I guess that’s a little better.” Buck resumes unpacking.
“Whatcha got over there?” Eddie says as he finishes taking out all the food.
Buck has everything he bought laid out now. From the fruits to the jewelry to the cedar and orange scented soap.
“Oh, uh…I went a little overboard on the jewelry.” Buck walks towards the fridge to put up the fruit. He’s glad that he thought to pack the cooler with ice before going to the market.
Eddie looks through the boxes of accessories that are covering the island, “Who are these for?”
“Every girl or woman in my life.” Buck rounds the island.
Eddie huffs a laugh, opening a box. He pauses, then looks up at Buck, “You’re being serious.”
“I thought about getting Maddie something, then Jee, then the list got longer and longer”
“And you didn’t get me anything?” Eddie places a hand on his heart, “I’m wounded.”
Well actually, Edmundo, he got something specifically for you. Not only that but he’s been thinking about you as his significant other for the past few hours and now he probably won’t be able to stop.
“No, I…I got you something…”
“Really?” Eddie’s hand falls from his chest.
“Yeah…the—the soap. Right there.” He points.
“You bought me soap? You trying to tell me that I smell bad?” He questions.
Buck wants to say that it’s quite the opposite. Eddie's soap seizes his nose and takes over his thoughts. That his soap—his smell makes him feel good. Makes him feel safe.
“No, of course not, I just saw it, knew that that was the scent you used and got it for you. I thought you’d like it.”
Eddie looks at the soap, then back at Buck, “Thanks Buck.”
After the four of them ate dinner, Buck showered while Eddie got Theo to go to bed.
After smelling the sweet, citrusy scent of Buck’s new soap, Eddie decides to shower too—in Buck’s bathroom—insisting on trying out his new soap.
Eddie steps out of the bathroom into Buck’s room, and the smell fills his nose immediately. Eddie’s shirtless, wearing some of Buck’s sweatpants even though he has his own clothes here. He says that Buck’s are more comfortable.
“Buck, this is great, man. I don’t know what’s in that soap, but I feel ten times cleaner than I usually feel—” Eddie says as he walks towards Buck’s bed.
Is he tired? Buck hopes that he’s tired. He did spend most of the day supervising two kids.
Eddie pulls the covers down on the right side and slides in, “—and the smell. It’s like perfect. Very fragrant but not too overwhelming.” He turns on his side to face Buck.
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“Mmm, thanks Buck.” Eddie hums, already on his way to sleep.
The next time Buck goes to the farmer’s market is about a week later. This time he has a reason. There’s a booth that Buck comes to sometimes when he wants to spoil himself or his family.
The stall sells homemade pastries. Buck’s here early today, wanting to buy some baked goods for the firehouse even though he’s not on shift today. Today’s Friday and Chris is having a sleepover at Buck’s this weekend since both boys have Friday off.
When Chris first asked if Denny could come over, he was caught off guard. Christopher had never asked to have someone over Buck's house.
It kind of felt like Chris was his son. He knows that that’s not the case, but it felt nice to hear either way.
So, today, every person on A-Shift is at work except Buck. He’s planning on bringing Chris, Theo, and Denny to the firehouse along with the pastries for breakfast.
Buck walks up to the stall, there’s a nice woman named Rosana, who works there with her grandmother, Ines.
“Well, hello again, what can I get for you today?” Rosana flashes a sweet smile.
“Good morning, Rosa, Can I get two dozen croissants and donuts, please?”
“Of course you can.” She turns to start bagging the goods. “How about I throw in a couple of macarons and cinnamon rolls, free of charge?”
“Oh no, you don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. Something extra for my favorite customer.” She looks at him while bagging the extra food.
Buck smiles at her, “Where’s Ines?”
“Abuelita was feeling a little under the weather today and decided to stay home.”
“Oh, I hope she feels better. Maybe I can come back tomorrow and bring some soup that my abuela used to make.” He hands over his card.
Buck doesn’t have an abuela, but what else does he refer to Isabel as? It’s better than abuela-in-law. He and Eddie are not married, obviously.
“Your abuela? Am I racist? I thought you were just white all this time. You’ve been holding out on me Bucky.”
The nickname makes him cringe. Rosa has been calling him that since the first time they met. Buck never corrects her, he doesn’t want to seem rude because she seems nice.
“Oh, I—no, I am just white. She’s my abuela-in-law…” He says, taking his card back.
Buck tries not to seem like he’s awkward. He was just thinking to himself that Isabel is not an in-law to him, but he said it anyway.
“In law?” She questions, giving Buck his bags of goods, “I thought—you don’t even wear a wedding ring. You have a wife?”
“Uh…no—not necessarily. I—” Buck gets interrupted by his phone ringing. He answers it. “Hey buddy, you guys okay?”
“Buck, can you tell Theo that we’re still going to see dad today?” Chris says through the phone.
“Am I on speaker?”
“Yeah.”
“Theo, baby, I’m almost done here, then we’re going to go and see Eddie and eat breakfast together, okay?”
“You promise?” Theo whispers.
“Yes, I promise.”
“Buck, he’s holding out his pinky.” Chris informs.
“I’m right there Theo, my pinky is wrapping around yours, okay? I promise.” Buck says with his pinky out.
“Okay.” Theo responds.
“Chris, he’s good now?”
“Yeah, he went back to playing with his LEGOs.”
“You didn’t tell anyone we were coming, right? I wanted it to be a surprise for your dad, and everyone else obviously.”
“No. I knew you would want to surprise them.”
“Okay, great. I’ll see you guys in a bit.”
“‘Kay, bye.”
“Bye bye.” Buck clears his throat. “Sorry about that.”
Rosa’s eyes are wide and her mouth is slightly parted. “You have kids?”
“Yeah, well—” This time, Buck gets interrupted by text notifications, his attention goes to his phone once more. “Sorry, one second.”
Mad Hatter 🩷: Buck!!!
Mad Hatter 🩷: Are you at the market right now?
Mad Hatter 🩷: If you are, can you get me some soap from that place that you got yours?
My Baby, Evan ❤️: Okay
My Baby, Evan ❤️: Anything specific?
Mad Hatter 🩷: A floral scent please?
Mad Hatter 🩷: I’m sure I’ll like whatever you pick.
Mad Hatter 🩷: Thank you ❤️
My Baby, Evan ❤️ loved a message.
“Sorry, I got to go. Thank you for the pastries!” He says already walking away from the stall.
“Mark! Good morning.” Buck says when he gets to the soap stall.
“Good morning, uhh…”
“Oh, Buck. Sorry, I forgot I never introduced myself.”
“Buck. Did your partner like the soap?”
“He really did and so did I. It smells great. Both of them do.” Buck nods stupidly like he didn’t just falsely confirm that he and Eddie were together.
“I’m glad, so what can I get for you today?”
“Something floral.”
“Floral? That’s quite the switch from cedar.” Mark points Buck to his floral scented soap.
Buck picks one up, smelling the sample, “Oh, it’s not for Eddie, it’s for my sister Maddie.”
“Ah, I see. And how have you and Eddie been?”
Buck pauses, looking up with another sample soap inches away from his nose, “Uh, good? We’re good.”
Buck hands Mark the soap named ‘Briar Rose.’ It smells kind of similar to a perfume he knows Maddie wears. He hopes she likes it.
“Just good?”
“Yeah?” Buck hands him his card.
“Can I give you some advice?” Buck nods, “I don’t know how long you and Eddie have been together but try to do things that you did when you first started dating.”
It feels wrong to listen to this. To pretend that he and Eddie are together, but Buck dug his hole by not correcting him.
Mark continues, “Break your routine sometimes. Go to new places, try a new pet name, touch each other more.” Mark hands him the bag of soap.
Buck’s words get caught in his throat, “T—touch each other more?”
Mark nods, “It doesn’t have to be sexual, just a touch or kiss on the cheek, neck, forehead or shoulder. Or they could be sexual, whatever you see fit. Just don’t let the passion of your relationship die down.”
Buck nods as if he’s going to take the advice.
Before arriving at the firehouse, Buck had texted everyone who wasn’t already there that he was doing a surprise breakfast.
Only Maddie was able to come, her being off of work and watching Nash, Jee and Mara since they were having a sleepover at her house.
Buck got there first, Chris and Denny walking beside him holding some of the bags of food. As soon as Theo’s feet hit the ground, he started sprinting.
“Eddieee!” He yells while running through the bay and up the stairs.
“Theo! Walk!” Buck yells when he gets to the stairs.
“Buck?” Hen says from the loft.
“Hey Hen.” He says as he and the other two boys walk up the stairs.
There, Eddie is already holding Theo on his hip. It looks as though Theo is in deep conversation. How deep of a conversation can a four-year-old have?
“I bought breakfast.” Buck says as they lay the bags out on the table.
Chimney rounds the table, “Buck, I could kiss you right now.”
Buck pulls a face, "Save that for Maddie.” He replies, knowing that she’s going to arrive soon.
Ravi and Harry immediately start digging in, filling their plates.
Bobby comes out of his office, “Buck, isn’t this a nice surprise.”
“Hey cap.”
“Thanks for the breakfast, kid. You know you didn’t have to do that right?”
Buck nods, “I know.”
“Grandpa! Grandpa!” Theo shouts from Eddie’s arms.
“Seems I’m needed elsewhere.” Bobby smiles at Buck, then walks over to Theo.
A second later, Hen walks up to Buck with Ravi and Harry at her side, both of them with their mouths full and their plates in hand.
“What are you supposed to say?”
“Thank you.” They say in synchronization. It comes out a little muffled since they were in the process of eating. Buck laughs in response.
Hen rolls her eyes and motions them to leave. “Thank you, Buck. This was really nice.”
“Of course, Hen.” He says as he hears footsteps enter the loft.
Jee makes it up the stairs first, immediately barreling into her Uncle Buck. In which Buck responds by swooping her up into his arms.
Mara trails behind her, making her way to her brother, Chris, Harry, Ravi and Hen are sitting.
Maddie’s the last one up the stairs, holding Nash in her arms. As soon as she makes it there, Chimney is at her side, placing kisses on her lips.
And Buck? Buck wants that. He wants to be that for someone. Someone to be that for him.
He walks over to Chim and Maddie, Chimney taking his daughter from Buck’s arms.
“Buck, you're just outdoing yourself today. Breakfast, and my wife and kids?” Chimney says.
Buck just smiles to himself. When he looks up, Eddie’s making his way to him.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“This was very nice of you to do, you know. Everyone is definitely feeling more relaxed. I know I am, so thanks for that.”
Today, their shift started at 3:00 am, which is abnormal for them. When Eddie woke up—in Buck’s bed—he looked so very miserable.
The day before, Buck was trying to keep Theo occupied, so Eddie could have a day to relax before having to get up so early.
“Yeah, sure.” He smiles, “You smell good.” He blurts out.
Eddie smiles too, “Well, I have you to thank for that too. And back to breakfast. Buck, all of this couldn’t have been cheap.”
“It was fine actually. Rosa gave me the macarons and cinnamon for free.” Buck smiles.
“Rosa?” Eddie questions.
“Yeah, she works at the stall that sells pastries."
Eddie hums in acknowledgement, “Are you…dating her?”
“What?” Buck rasps. “No. Why would you say that?”
“Again, this food isn’t cheap, and she gave you a lot of it for free. And you’re on a first name basis with her.”
“Well, actually her name is Rosana.”
“So, you call her a nickname? That’s not helping your case bud.”
“We’re not dating.” Buck says. If only Eddie knew that Rosa now thinks that he’s married with kids.
“Wait… Does she call you a nickname?”
“That’s irrelevant.”
“Oh my God, she does. What is it?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Okay, Buck.” Eddie says with a laugh.
Later that night he gets a message from Maddie saying that she loved her new soap. Buck felt very proud about it since he picked the scent.
At about four in the morning, Buck is woken up by the sound of his bedroom door creaking open. Eddie walks in looking dead on his feet, and the scent of his soap fills Buck’s nose almost immediately. He must’ve showered at the station.
“You okay?” Buck asks, rubbing his eyes. Eddie responds with a nod as he walks to Buck’s dresser, fishing out some of Buck’s sweatpants. “Rough shift?” Buck shifts so that he’s sat up against the pillows.
“Yeah.” Eddie responds, taking off his shirt and pants, then pulling on Buck’s sweats.
Buck tries to hide the fact that he’s happy that Eddie’s tired. He just loves when they sleep together and would rather not think about why that is.
Eddie walks over to the bed and slides in next to Buck. Buck’s mind replays what Mark said to him earlier that day.
Eddie shifts down, his back against the bed, and his head turned away from Buck. Buck scoots down too, turning towards Eddie. He moves closer and presses a kiss to Eddie’s shoulder.
It’s not fast, he sits in the kiss for a second, feeling the warmth of Eddie’s shoulder against his lips.
He feels Eddie still, then he relaxes into the touch, humming in response. Buck takes that as a sign to do it again, so he does, wrapping his arm on Eddie’s waist.
“Goodnight, Eds.” He whispers against his shoulder.
“Night Buck.” Eddie mumbles.
Buck wakes up before Eddie. Eddie, who is curled towards Buck. Eddie, whose leg is slung over one of Buck’s. Eddie, whose hand is resting on Buck’s chest.
Buck slowly extracts himself and goes to his bathroom. After he’s done there, he goes to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone.
Theo runs into the kitchen with Eddie trailing behind him right as Buck finishes breakfast.
“I’m hungry.” Theo says, walking next to Buck.
“I know, I’ll make your plate right now.” Buck says turning and grabbing a plate from the cabinet.
Theo sprints to the living room, presumably to continue his LEGOs that he left on the living room floor.
Eddie walks closer, “Good morning.”
Eddie doesn’t say anything about the shoulder kiss. He instead walks up behind Buck and places a kiss on his shoulder this time.
Buck feels like he’s dreaming.
He sleepily decided to take Mark’s advice, knowing that he and Eddie weren’t actually together and now Eddie is kissing him back.
“Good morning.” Buck replies.
“Any plans for today?”
“Well, I’m supposed to be going back to the market so—”
“Again? Do you have a secret family that I don’t know about or something?” Eddie moves so that he’s next to Buck, his back against the counter.
Buck gives him a look before he resumes making Theo’s breakfast. “No, Eddie. I uh, was planning on making abuela’s soup.”
“Caldo de Pollo?”
“Yeah.”
“Any reason?”
“Umm…”
Eddie already has his assumptions about his nonexistent relationship with Rosa. This’ll only add to that, but Buck doesn’t want to lie to him.
“It’s for Ines.” Buck walks to the dining room, placing Theo’s plate on the table. “Theo, come eat.” Buck says before walking back to the kitchen, Eddie follows behind him.
“And Ines is?”
“Rosa’s abuelita…”
“Rosa’s abuelita?” Eddie asks. “You’ve met her grandmother?”
“Eddie, she works at the stall with her grandma. I’m not being introduced to her family. We’re not dating.”
“Mmm.”
“We’re not dating.” He says, starting to make Chris and Denny’s plates.
“Rosa, hi, how are you?” Buck asks with the container of soup in his hands.
“I’m good. Wow, you actually brought the soup.”
“I said I would.” He hands it over to her, “Ines still not feeling well?”
“She’s getting better. I’m sure the soup will help. Thank you for that.” She smiles, going to store the container somewhere behind her. “So…kids.”
“Kids?”
“You have them?”
Buck technically has one kid, but Eddie is very adamant on telling him how present he was in raising Christopher and that he’s his dad too.
And the people at the market already think he’s married to Eddie, so what’s one more bent truth. Though is it really a bent truth if Eddie himself says that Chris is his kid?
“I do. I have two boys. Fifteen and four.”
“Aww, how precious. And…their mother?”
“I’m not understanding the question.”
“I—I guess I mean…do you have a girlfriend? Wife?”
Buck shakes his head, “Oh, no.”
“Oh, so you’re a single father.”
“I wouldn’t say that—”
“Would you maybe want to go out sometime? Whenever you’re available?” She looks up at him, batting her eyes. “It must be hard to have free time with a toddler. We could go wherever whenever you’re available.” She adds.
Buck doesn’t really know how to respond. Thinking back, Rosa has definitely been flirting with him since they first met.
He’s finally understanding why Eddie thought that he and Rosa may have been dating.
Luckily, he doesn’t really get a chance to respond because Eddie walks up beside him with Theo rested on his hip.
Eddie had volunteered to come with him to the market today, which he normally doesn’t do. They both decided to bring Theo as well.
Chris and Denny were still asleep when they left. Though they probably wouldn’t have come anyway.
Most likely opting to stay home instead to do something more productive like play video games all day.
“Hey, I’m gonna go sit in the truck with him.” Eddie says, with Theo’s head resting on Eddie’s shoulder. “I think it’s nap time.”
“Okay.” Buck leans over, moves Theo’s hair away from his face, and presses a kiss on his forehead. “Oh—uh, this is Rosa.”
Eddie plasters on a smile and puts out his hand. “Eddie, Buck’s partner. It’s nice to meet you.”
Rosa shakes his hand, her eyes getting a little wider, but she recovers quickly, “Oh. Yes, nice to meet you.” She smiles.
Eddie retracts his hand and turns to Buck. He leans in and places a kiss on his cheek, “You can still take your time. We’ll be fine in the truck with the AC.” He says with a hand rubbing up and down Buck’s arm.
“Y—yeah, I won’t be long. I just wanted to get the soup to Rosa for Ines. I’m gonna stop at Mark’s—the soap stall, then we can head home.” Buck manages to get out, flustered by the kiss.
May asked Maddie where she got her perfume from. They’ve been hanging out again since May has been interning as a nurse.
Maddie told her that it was actually just soap and told her about the stall Buck had found. Buck promised May that he’d get her a soap the next time he came to the market.
“Okay.” He turns to Rosa, “Nice to meet you again.” He says before walking away.
“You too.” Her smile falls.
Eddie is jealous. Buck doesn’t know if he’s ever seen Eddie like this before. He basically just peed on him like a dog marking its territory.
“Well, um…I hope Ines gets well soon.”
“Right. Yeah, um, thanks again…for the soup.” She smiles.
“Yeah, sure.” He starts to walk away.
Mark’s stall isn’t that far from Rosa’s. He just wants to get home quicker knowing that Theo and Eddie are sitting in the car.
“Hi Buck.” Mark says when Buck arrives at his stall.
“Morning Mark.” He smiles.
“What are we looking for today?”
“A vanilla scent, please.”
Mark picks up what seems to be his only vanilla scented soap and hands the open bar to Buck. “Who is this one for?”
“My sister—my other sister.” He corrects, reading the name of the soap, ‘Nilla Cookie,’ before bringing it to his nose to smell it.
It obviously smells like vanilla, but there’s also a hint of something else, coconut maybe. It smells really good. He picks up and hands the closed soap to Mark as well as his card, placing the tester back where it was.
“How many siblings do you have?” He asks, swiping Buck’s card and handing it back.
“Biologically or like step-adopted? Or all together? And are we counting dead siblings too?” He grabs the bag Mark hands to him.
“Uh…”
“Two biological siblings, an older sister and brother. My brother passed away when I was a baby. I have a nonbiological younger sister and brother too, so four in total.”
“Wow, I’m sorry for your loss.”
Buck gives a half smile, “Yeah, me too. Um, thanks for the advice and the soap. I gotta go though, my son is tired and I need to put him down for a nap.”
“Son? You have a kid?”
“Two actually.”
“Your family just keeps expanding in my head the more I see you.”
Buck laughs, “Yeah. I’ll see you later Mark.”
“See you, Buck.”
“I’m gonna go put him down for his nap, then you put me down for my nap?” Eddie asks when they walk into the house.
Buck huffs a laugh, “Yeah, okay.”
Eddie really only got four hours of sleep. He woke up at around eight, just after Buck finished making breakfast.
Buck took about an hour making the soup for Ines, and Eddie also went to the market with him.
Buck told him that he was fine just going with Theo, given that Chris and Denny weren’t awake yet. Probably having stayed up all night.
But Eddie said he wanted to come, especially since he hadn’t been. They got home at around eleven.
They walk down the hall together. Eddie goes to Theo’s room and Buck goes to Christopher’s.
When he opens the door, both Chris and Denny are still asleep, sprawled on Chris’ queen-sized bed. Buck walks in a little more, taking a picture and sending it to Hen and Karen.
Buck walks out and meets Eddie in the hall. They pass each other, their shoulders touching as they swap rooms.
Buck walks into Theo's room, crouching down beside his bed. He leans over and kisses his forehead just as he did earlier. He pauses for a moment, watching the rise and fall of his chest.
Both men meet in the hallway again. Eddie stops in front of Buck, leaning his head forward on Buck’s shoulder.
Buck’s hand comes up to rub Eddie’s back, “Come on, let’s get you some sleep.”
Eddie responds with a noise in agreement as they walk towards Buck’s room.
They change clothes in silence. A comfortable silence. Eddie finishes changing first, opting to go without a shirt. He puts his phone on the charger and places it on the nightstand then gets in the bed, Buck follows shortly after.
“You’re napping with me?” Eddie turns to Buck.
“I’m not that tired, Eds.”
Huh.
Does Eds count as a pet name? Or would that just be a nickname?
“You’re staying though?” Eddie asks.
“Yeah.”
Eddie hums, getting comfortable in the bed, moving closer to Buck. “The pastry stall lady likes you.”
Buck sees Eddie’s eyes already getting droopy. “Yeah, I’ve started to notice that.”
“Do you want to date her?” Eddie looks up at Buck who’s still sitting up against the pillows.
“No.”
A couple of seconds pass. Buck thinks Eddie has fallen asleep, but he scoots closer to Buck. Turning towards him and putting one of his legs over Buck’s.
Buck moves lower on the bed, allowing Eddie to put half of his body on top of him. Buck turns and kisses Eddie forehead.
Eddie lets out what seems to be a long sigh of relief. Almost like he was waiting for the kiss, wanting it. Eddie’s breathing shifts, then he’s finally asleep.
Buck grabs his phone and reads his messages from May. She’s letting him know that she’s on her way to his house to pick up the soap.
May gets to Buck’s house about ten minutes later. He had asked her not to ring the doorbell since everyone in the house is asleep except for him.
“Hey May.” He says, opening the door and letting her inside.
“Hey.”
They walk in the kitchen together. Buck gives her the soap. She opens it and smells it immediately.
“Oh my God. Buck.”
“I know.” He smiles.
“This smells so good, thank you.”
“It’s no problem. Uh… can I talk to you about something?”
“Always.” She closes the soap again. “What’s up?”
“I think everyone at the market thinks that Eddie’s my partner—romantic partner.”
May freezes.
“And I haven’t corrected them…”
She opens then closes her mouth.
“And the soap seller has been giving me relationship advice and I’m not even in a relationship. I’ve been applying it to Eddie. I—I kissed—”
Her eyes widen, “You kissed Eddie?”
“Not on the lips.”
“Then where?”
“Everywhere else I guess?”
“What?” Her eyebrows almost touching her hairline.
“No—sorry. Not everywhere else. Just like on the shoulder and like the forehead. Nothing crazy.”
“Nothing crazy?”
“Yeah, I mean, he kissed me too. On the shoulder and cheek.”
May blinks at him, “He kissed you back?”
“Yeah… What do you think that means?”
“Maybe that he wants to be with you.”
“No, but Eddie’s straight, he doesn’t like me like that.”
“Buck, where is Eddie right now?”
“He’s sleeping.”
“Right, but where?”
“In my room.”
“Right, and where is Chris?”
“He and Denny are asleep in his room.”
Buck’s confused. Why is she asking questions she already knows the answers to?
“Buck, Eddie is asleep in your bed. Chris is asleep in his room that he has at your house.”
“Okay?”
“Buck, you’re basically together already. He and Chris live here. The only thing that’s different is that you don’t kiss on the mouth.”
“No, but…we’re just friends—best friends.”
“Then maybe you need to reevaluate what you call a friendship.” She picks up the soap, “Thanks again for this, I have to go though. I’m supposed to be meeting up with Maddie.”
“Yeah, of course.” He walks her to the door. “I’ll see you later.”
“Bye Buck.”
Chris walks in just as Buck shuts the door.
“Hey buddy.”
“Hey Buck. Did you make breakfast?”
“Yeah, yours and Denny’s are in the microwave.”
“Okay, thanks Buck.”
“You’re welcome.”
Buck walks back to his bedroom. Inside, Eddie’s migrated over to Buck’s side of the bed. Like he was seeking him out in his sleep.
He slides in carefully, trying not to wake up Eddie. Eddie only moves closer, hiking one leg on Buck’s again and nuzzling his nose into Buck’s neck.
Honestly, Buck had expected that May would tell Maddie what had happened. He didn’t feel any way about it. He was gonna tell her anyway, May just saved him the time.
About thirty minutes after May leaves, Buck hears the sound of his notifictions. He doesn’t get the chance to look at his phone because Theo opens his door holding his Spider-man plushie.
“Hey buddy. You okay?” Buck sits up a little. Eddie moves closer to him.
“Spider-man wants to sleep in here with you and Eddie.”
“Oh yeah? Are you gonna come too? We wouldn’t want Spider-man to be sad without you.”
Theo walks over to the bed and Buck helps him up. He scoots Eddie and himself over, settling Theo on the other side of him since Eddie is half on top of him.
Theo falls asleep almost immediately, so Buck takes the opportunity to look at his messages.
Maddie: YOU’RE KISSING EACH OTHER???
Harry: whos kissing eachother?
May: Buck and Eddie
Harry: WHATTT
Maddie: Buck answer the phone
Harry emphasized a message.
Maddie: You can’t possibly think this is normal bestie behavior
Buck: I dont know if you guys forgot but I do have a toddler
Maddie: Oh, is he okay?
Buck: Fine
Buck: He’s sleeping next to me now.
May: Ask him who else is sleeping next to him…
Buck: May.
Harry: uh oh
Harry: punctuation
May: am i wrong?
Buck: Irrelevant.
Maddie: Buck
Maddie: How long have you and Eddie been kissing?
Buck: Dont say it like that
Buck: They’re platonic kisses
Buck: Weve never kissed on the lips
Maddie: You might as well.
May and Harry emphasized a message.
Harry: where have you guys placed these “platonic kisses”?
Buck: You know, shoulder, cheek, forehead
Harry: in what world is a shoulder kiss platonic?
May: none
Maddie: Buck just kiss that man on the lips so you can finally get together.
Buck: Eddie’s straight.
Maddie, May, and Harry disliked a message.
Buck: Im gonna block all of you
Buck swipes out of the messages app and puts his phone on the nightstand, careful not to move too much and wake up either person next to him.
Buck moves Theo’s hair out of his face and watches him for a little while. He then turns to Eddie, Eddie whose head is now resting on his chest. Buck’s hand has been subconsciously rubbing his back.
He watches for who knows how long until Eddie’s breathing pattern changes. Eddie moves up a bit and places two kisses on Buck’s neck—making his breath hitch—before moving back down.
“You watching me sleep Buckley?”
“Maybe.”
Eddie smiles, then he notices the body on the other side of Buck.
“He okay?”
“Yeah, woke up a while ago. Came in here because he didn’t want to be alone.”
Eddie hums in response, “Are you okay?”
The texts with his siblings kind of scrambled his mind. This isn’t the first time that someone has insinuated that Eddie wasn’t straight. And they all seem to think that Eddie would be fine with Buck kissing him.
“I’m just thinking.”
“Okay, about what?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Buck—”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Eddie. At least…not right now.” Buck leans down and kisses Eddie’s cheek. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. You can talk to me whenever you’re ready, just do talk to me.”
Buck nods, his gaze falling to Eddie’s lips for a split second.
Buck and Eddie are back in bed. It’s eight at night, Buck made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and Theo passed out shortly after Buck gave him his bath.
Both Chris and Denny went back to Chris’ room after dinner, telling him and Eddie goodnight, even though they probably weren’t going to sleep anytime soon.
Both Buck and Eddie are in Buck’s bed again. Buck’s sat up against the pillows while Eddie is laying down facing Buck, both of them on their phones.
Buck is going through the messages from earlier. Could Eddie want Buck the way that Buck wants him?
Buck places his phone down on the nightstand and scoots down the bed, turning towards Eddie.
Eddie places his phone down on the sheets, “Ready to talk now?”
“Not necessarily.” He moves so that he’s hovering above Eddie, his hands on either side of his head.
Buck leans down and places multiple kisses on Eddie’s chest. He hears Eddie take a sharp breath of air as he kisses him.
He continues his path of kisses going up to Eddie’s neck, then his jaw. He leans back for a second and looks at Eddie before he dives in, kissing his lips.
Eddie matches Buck with ease, his hands cupping Buck’s face. One hand moves to Buck’s waist. Eddie pulls him close so that there is no space between them.
Buck pulls back, eliciting a whine from Eddie. He leans back in and presses a quick kiss to his lips.
Both of them just look at each other for a moment, Buck moves to lay beside Eddie. The only sound in the room is the hard breathing from both of them.
“So…you—you’re not straight?”
Eddie chokes out a laugh, “Buck. I’ve been kissing you.”
“Yeah, but not on the lips. I thought it was platonic.”
“When you first kissed me, were you thinking platonic thoughts?”
“That doesn’t matter. I thought that’s what you thought of them as.”
“Buck, I’ve kissed you on your shoulder…and neck. That’s definitely not platonic.”
“Yeah, I’m seeing that now…” He runs a hand through his hair, “They’re going to be so insufferable.”
Eddie scoots closer, giving Buck a quick peck. “Who is?” He licks his lips.
“Maddie, May and Harry.”
“You told your siblings that we’ve been kissing?”
“Well, I told May, then she told Maddie, the Maddie texted in the sibling group chat and that’s how Harry found out.”
“Is this what you we’re overthinking about earlier?”
“Yeah… They were telling me that I should just kiss you, but I didn’t want to ruin what we had going on.”
“Well, I’m glad you finally listened to them.”
“Yeah, me too.” Buck smiles as he leans in again.