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Buck’s not entirely sure how he ended up here. One minute he was doing something that is a complete blur in his head, the next he’s in a hospital bed with a nurse checking him.
“Hi, you’re awake” the nurse greets, small smile on her face.
“Uhh, why am I in hospital?” his voice is raspy
“You were in an accident on the job. We did a few scans and there’s no signs of internal bleeding. However, given the injury, we need to ask a few questions.”
“Wait, what injury?”
“You were working the ariel when it was raining, you slipped and fell on your way down” someone says beside him.
He turns to the voice and- oh my god. This guy was hot. Like. So, so very hot. If Buck wasn’t in the pain he was in right now, he’d fling himself at this guy. Who was he? He hasn’t seen him before.
“Your friend is right.” the nurse says, “You broke your arm. Do you know the year?”
“2018” Buck answers
“Do you remember anything?”
“Not much”
“What do you remember?”
“I remember Bobby firing me then letting me back in. Bobby’s my captain. I’m a firefighter”
After a few more questions and another scan, they came to a conclusion.
“So, we believe that you’re dealing with post-traumatic amnesia, or pta. It’s caused by blunt force trauma, like your fall, but your memories can come back from a certain trigger event.” The nurse explained
“Okay, what event can bring them back?” Buck questions
“That I’m not sure of.”
“Do you have an estimation on his memories?” the hot man asks
“No, it’s up to him really. 7 years it a big jump, the time for patients will vary”
“Wait, wait, wait” Buck interrupts, “7 years- it’s 2025?!”
“Yes sir”
“I’ve lost 7 years of memory?”
“Like I said, a trigger event will cause your memories to come back to you. It might be slow paced, but it’ll happen.”
The man leans forward in the chair, placing his hand of Bucks’ bicep. His calloused fingers drum into the muscle there. “It’s me, Eddie, do you remember your name?”
“I’m Buck…and whatever your last name is”
The man stills and the nurse stifles a snort. “Uhh, I’ll be back” she says before walking out the room.
Buck looks up at the man, whose face is still twisted in confusion. “Uhh, what did you say?”
“What’s your last name?”
“Diaz. I- I’m Eddie Diaz”
“Then I’m Buck Diaz. Well, Evan, but I don’t like being called Evan. It’s Buck”
“Uhh, yeah, okay”
There’s a knock on the door and Buck turns to it; a woman and a man stand there. Wait, is that…
“Maddie? What’re you doing here? You look so different”
“Chim called saying you fell on the ariel ladder” the man beside her said, “I picked up Maddie on my way here, you okay?” the man takes a seat next to hot Eddie.
Bucks first thought was ew. Who was this guy? How’d he know him, he looks about 20 years older than him. Why’d he know him?
“You okay babe?” he asks
“Uhh, what?” Buck questions
“I asked if you were okay”
“You called me babe. Why?”
“Evan, you can’t be serious”
Evan? Seriously, who was this guy?
“Buck has PTA, post-traumatic amnesia. So, he doesn’t remember the last 7 years”
“Will he get it back?” Maddie asks
“Yes, but there has to be a trigger event but were not sure what that is. We have to figure it out”
“Yes, thank you my love” Buck says to Eddie, a toothy grin covering his face.
The old man look to Buck. “Excuse me?”
“What?”
“You called Eddie ‘my love’”
“Well…he’s my boyfriend, right?”
“Buck, honey” Maddie interrupts, “Eddie’s not your boyfriend”
“What? Yes, he is”
“No, he’s not. Tommy is”
Buck looks to the old man. Ah, Tommy. Ew. Why would he date Tommy when Eddie is right here?
“Why would I date Tommy if I have Eddie right in front of me?”
Eddie’s face goes bright red and so does Tommy’s but in very different ways. Tommy gets up furiously, leaving the room and Eddie follows him out. Buck turns back to Maddie.
“So why am I dating that old guy?” he asks and Maddie tries, and fails spectacularly, to hold in her laugh.
“Trust me, I want to ask you that question all the time”
“So, Eddie isn’t my boyfriend?”
“I…give me a second” Maddie says quickly before leaving the room too.
A few minutes later, Eddie and Maddie come back in. The two sit back down and Eddie takes Bucks hand in his.
“Hey, sorry for walking out like that. We thought something like that would help with the memories because you’d realise it was a lie. You’re not dating tommy”
“Good. Am I dating you? Please tell me I am, you’re so hot”
Maddie snorts and Eddie shoots her a glare. He turns back to buck. “Yes, I’m your boyfriend”
“Good, and that was a sick joke to play.”
“I know, sorry baby”
“It’s okay”
---
Eddie is driving while Buck’s in the passenger seat on the way home from the hospital. He spent 2 days in the hospital with hen, Chimney, and Bobby coming in and out, checking up on him. Bobby’s married to the police officer that doesn’t like him- apparently she does now- and Buck almost cried of joy when Maddie said that she wasn’t married to Doug, she was married to Chimney, and they had a kid together.
Everyone other than Eddie was laughing when they started talking about the reboot of Buck 1.0 or whatever that meant. Eddie seemed confused by it.
So now they’re in the car and Buck keeps on lulling his head to the side to admire Eddie’s features.
“Everything alright? I can feel your eyes on me” Eddie jokes, looking at Buck before back at the road.
“Can you blame me? Have you looked in a mirror recently? Because you should. If I was you, I’d bring a mini one everywhere just to see how hot I am”
“So, this is buck 1.0 huh? They warned me about this. Apparently, I came into your life at Buck 2.0, so I missed out on this one”
“Aww, you mad about that?”
“I-uhh-“
Wow. Buck didn’t realise how little it took to make Eddie flustered. He’s going to use this to his advantage then.
When they pull into Eddie’s driveway, Buck reaches over to brush Eddie’s hair back, a single strand falling back down. Wow, that was hot. Buck chuckles.
“What?” Eddie asks
“The little piece of hair that’s fallen back down. It’s so slutty”
“What?”
“Yeah, you have a little slut strand”
“Uhh, slutty?”
“Mm-hm hot and slutty”
Eddie flushes a deep red and he moves quickly, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out the car. He moves over to the other side and unlocks Buck’s door- what a gentleman. He holds out his hand and Buck takes it gleefully, getting out and letting Eddie shut the door behind him.
When they make it inside the house, Buck scans around the place. He’s eager to explore everything.
“Go on, I can see you bouncing, look around the place, maybe it’ll help” Eddie chuckles, setting down the bag and taking off Bucks’ jacket from him.
Buck toes off his shoes quickly and starts exploring, looking around everywhere. The kitchen, the front room, the kids room.
“Why’s there a kids room here?”
Eddie steps into the doorway beside Buck, sadness downing onto his face.
“This is Chris’ room. my kid”
“Kid?”
“Yep, kid.” He pulls out his phone to show Buck his lockscreen. And yes, it’s a picture of him, Buck, and Chris at some Christmas market.
“That was from a few months after we met”
“Cute. Where is he now?”
“…Texas. He’s living with my parents at the moment”
“Oh, why?”
“They don’t think I’m suitable enough for him. he doesn’t really want to talk to me either.”
“Oh, I’m sorry”
“It’s okay. You actually tried to convince him to stay. You helped a lot”
Buck takes Eddie’s hand in his, intertwining them with a soft squeeze. He pulls Eddie into the next room which, unsurprisingly, is Eddie’s bedroom. Buck plops down on the bed and pulls Eddie down with him.
The two shift up the bed and Buck immediately curls up. “Hey, am I normally big spoon?”
“…I mean, yeah?”
“Can I be little spoon? I want to be held”
“Of course,”
Eddie curls behind Buck, pressing Buck’s back flush to Eddie’s chest. He drapes a hand over Buck’s waist and a leg over his. It’s been a long 2 days, and all Buck wants to do is rest in the comfort of a bed, and with Eddie holding him, it isn’t long before he doses off.
---
When Buck wakes up, his face is smushed into something. He inhales slowly, the musky scent filling his nostrils. He pulls back to see that his face was in fact smushed into Eddie’s neck; he must’ve rolled over in his sleep.
An arm tightens around his waist and the other around his shoulder, pulling Buck back in.
“Don’t go yet” Eddie grumbles
“Alright, I won’t” Buck smirks. He presses a soft kiss into the crook of Eddie’s neck. He only feels the vibration from the pleased hum that Eddie does, so he presses another. And another. And another.
He starts peppering kisses all up and down Eddie’s neck until Eddie shuffles out of Buck’s hands. “We gotta get up, I told Maddie we’d drop by before her shift.”
“Oh, alright then”
---
When they make it to Maddie’s, she has a wide grin plastered to her face.
“Hey, come in, I have a bit before I have to leave”
When they step inside, Chimney is cooking breakfast in the kitchen with Jee-Yun sitting on the counter.
“What you cooking?” Buck asks, looking at the kid on the counter. He feels something bloom in his chest, warm and sweet.
“Pancakes!” Jee-Yun squeals, holding out her arms to Buck. He hugs her softly, as if he squeezes, she’ll pop. “Hi Uncle Buck”
“Hi”
A wave of joy runs through him when she calls him uncle, and it makes him want to cry from happiness.
“Alright, why doesn’t Jee, Eddie, and Chim go to the front room and me and Buck have a chat?”
The three leave and Maddie turns to buck with a wide grin.
“So, how was yesterday, being at home?” she asks
“Oh, I live with Eddie?”
“What?”
“Well, he took me back to his place. But oh my god, Eddie’s hot. He’s so hot, I’m so glad he’s my boyfriend”
“I can tell, you always talk about him”
“How could I not? But can I ask a question?”
“Of course,”
“Are we normally affectionate? Because this morning when we woke up, I kissed his neck once and he liked it, he sounded like he did, but when I kept on doing it, he pulled back”
“Uhh, okay. Well, you didn’t have to go into the details about it, but you’re normally affectionate with each other. He’s probably just worrying about your injury.”
“Mhm, so were normally affectionate?”
“Yes”
“What do we do?”
“Well, I don’t really know what you do when you’re alone- it’s something I don’t want know- but when you’re in public you hold hands or kiss or have like an arm around each other or something”
“So, if I do that normally, why did he get all flustered when I kissed his neck?”
“He’s always flustered by you”
“It’s cute”
“You’ve said before”
Maddie checks her phone, sighing at the time.
“I have to go. But you can stay here for a bit with Chim and Jee, maybe recall some things, yeah?”
“Sounds good”
“Alright, I’ll see you” she smiles, pulling Buck into a hug. She goes to leaves but he stops her.
“Wait, can I ask one more question?”
“Of course,”
“Are people…okay with me and Eddie dating?”
Maddie’s face softens, “Yes. People have been thinking it since you guys first met. You’re BuckandEddie. Everyone was so happy when you told us”
“Oh, good. Bye Mads”
“Bye”
Buck heads into the front room where the other three are. He plops down on the sofa next to Eddie, resting his head on his shoulder. He listens to Chim’s rambling about something, probably the shift. He looks to Eddie; his cheeks are tinted pink. He presses a kiss to Eddie’s jaw which makes the tint spread to his whole face. He really does get flustered easily. “Cute” he whispers
“…and I was just- Uhh, okay” Chimney falters, cocking a brow at Eddie.
“What?” Buck asks, “Am I not allowed to be romantic with my boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend” he repeats, “Boyfriend of course. You’re allowed, just…slipped my mind”
---
Once they left and were heading back to Eddies place, Buck started talking.
“Hey, why do you get so flustered when I do things? You find me that attractive?”
Eddie’s grip on the wheel tightens quickly before relaxing again. “I mean, you’re very- attractive. Sometimes it just surprises me”
“Oh, do you not like the surprise?”
“No, I definitely do, it’s good”
“So, I shouldn’t tell you what I’m going to do to you?”
Eddie chokes, “I- uhh- wow, you absolutely should”
“You’re into that?”
“Yes, definitely”
Buck grins, leaning back in the passenger seat.
---
When they get home, Eddie starts making lunch. Buck watches intently, smiling at the way Eddie moves around.
“It’s a nice kitchen”
“Mhm-hm, we always have moments in here.”
“Really?”
“Yep, we had our…first kiss here”
“We did?”
“Yep”
“How about we…recreate that moment?”
Eddie blinks, he puts the butter back in the fridge as he speaks. “You want to do our first kiss?”
Buck smirks, “You’re acting like we haven’t kissed before”
“Mhm, yeah, I just…surprised me”
“Oh, sorry”
“No, as I said, I like surprises”
“So, can we?”
“O-of course”
Buck moves around the counter and into Eddie’s space. His hands rest low on Eddie’s hips and Eddie’s hands find his face. Their chests press flush together and their noses brush and Eddie takes in a long breath.
He presses his lips against Eddie’s, softly at first. Eddie makes a surprised noise, but immediately after melts into the feeling. It urges Buck, making him press his mouth deeper onto the other man. It feels amazing, it feels so…wait.
Eddie’s phones rings loud on the counter, making Eddie jump back from Buck’s hold. Eddie looks to the phone with a sigh.
“I- sorry,” Eddie stammers, “It’s Chim, give me a second”
He picks it up and walks into a different part of the house. Buck can only nod because he doesn’t want to spring on Eddie the realisation of what just happened. His memories came back, from kissing Eddie.
---
The moment Maddie gets off her shift and Eddie leaves to go get food; Buck calls her. She picked up after a few rings.
“Hi, is everything okay?”
“Maddie, what the hell?”
“Is everything okay?”
“I- memories- Eddie- Eddie’s not my boyfriend!”
The line is silent before he hears Maddie let out a small, “Ah”
“You’re in so much trouble Mads, Eddie’s so sweet and he’s doing so much for me because he didn’t want me to be sad”
“Wait, what did he do exactly?”
“He kissed me because you said that he was my boyfriend!”
“Wait, he kissed you?”
“Yes!”
“Ah”
“Maddie, what do I do?”
“Tell him that you have your memories back?”
“I can’t!”
“Why not?”
“Because- because I…I don’t know. I just don’t get why he’s doing this for me; pretending to be my boyfriend”
“Because he’s in love with you”
In the background, he can hear Chimney say, “I thought we were going to ease him into that!”
Buck pauses. “What?”
“Buck, he loves you”
“No, he doesn’t!”
“A blind person could see it”
“So do you think he’d stop if we went too far?”
“I don’t know, probably.”
“Okay”
“Don’t try anything stupid”
“No promises. Bye Mads”
“Wait, Buck-“
He hangs up.
---
They’ve eaten and cleaned up the next day. They’re now sitting on the sofa with beers in hand. Bucks nestled into Eddie’s side, both arms around one of Eddie’s. He looks to Eddie, his face looking so soft in the dim light.
Buck presses a soft, lingering kiss to Eddie’s neck. Then another, then another, he peppers kisses up and down Eddie’s neck. He kisses his pulse point firmly. He can hear Eddie’s breath hitch under the feeling. He moves up to Eddie’s jaw now, pressing tender kisses up closer, closer, closer to Eddie’s mouth.
“Buck” Eddie whispers, a delicate sound that’s barely audible compared to show on the TV, the hum of everything outside, and the smack of Buck’s lips against eddies cheek.
When he kisses Eddie on the mouth, Eddie wastes no time pulling Buck closer to him, like he was waiting for Buck to do it. Eddie grabs at the fabric on Buck’s shirt, pulling on the collar to drag him closer. Their chests press flush together when Eddie leans back on the sofa, laying the two of them down.
Buck moves his hands around Eddie’s body; shoulders, neck, face, waist, chest. They land under his back, pulling him up from the sofa. Buck thinks, how far will Eddie go?
He guides them through eddies house until they reach the bedroom. Eddie’s legs hit the back of bed and he falls, back hitting the mattress. Eddie’s still grabbing at Buck. Buck springs back from him, face flushed and breathing ragged, matching Eddie.
“Are you serious?!” Buck exclaims, running a hand through his already mused curls, “You’d really go this- this far just for some fake story made up?!”
“You- do you have your memories back?”
“Yes! I don’t understand why you’d go this far for me. We just made out! How far would you have gone for this?!”
“Buck, calm down”
“Me, calm down? You don’t tell me to calm down, we were about to-“ Buck stops himself, just watching Eddie. “What’s your reason?”
Eddie stands, walking over to where Buck is in the middle of Eddie’s room. He places his hands on Buck’s shoulders, rubbing circles in to ground him.
“I wanted to” Eddie murmurs
“What?”
“I wanted to have this, I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable. I just…” he trails off, eyes flicking to Bucks lips before back up to his eyes.
Buck falters, “You…you wanted this? Us?”
“Buck”
“Answer me, Eddie, do you want us?”
“Yes, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted it”
Buck nods, placing his hands on Eddie’s back and pulling him into a hug, warm and gentle. It makes Buck’s chest bloom with tenderness. He presses a long-lasting kiss on Eddie’s shoulder. “I want us too”
“Good. When did you get your memories back?”
“When we kissed in the kitchen”
“Oh, you didn’t say anything”
“I needed to process everything, and call Maddie”
“Mhm, we’ll send her a thank-you card for this. It was all her idea”
“I mean, it was kinda my fault, I said I wanted your last name. I mean, I do” Buck grins
“Is that a promise?”
“Of course it is”
“So…did you wanna continue?” Eddie asks, pressing a kiss to Buck's birthmark
“Of course I do"