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the-likesofus · 1 year

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i’m so glad i get to hold you

What am i supposed to do when they make me wait two weeks for a new episode but cry over something that happened like three years ago???

Post-Tsunami: follow-up to Chris being found; Eddie takes Buck home with him.

9-1-1 on Fox | 2180 words | soft buddie, emotional hurt/comfort, hair drying cos it makes me soft, eddie's just glad his boys are okay

Read on AO3

The stress Eddie has experienced in the last ten minutes is something he never wishes to repeat in his lifetime. The relief in his chest threatens to consume him as he tucks Christopher–cold and damp but alive–closer into his arms and rests his forehead against the smooth skin of his son's cheek. He breathes. For a long moment he kneels on the concrete and lets the smell of salt water that clings to Christopher's clothes drown him, lets his damp curls tickle his cheek and revels in the way his tiny chest expands with every breath.

"Dad?" Christopher starts squirming. Even wrapped in the massive red hoodie someone put him in his small frame is shivering in the cold.

"Yeah, buddy." Eddie brushes a hand over Christopher's curls. "You're okay. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Where's Buck?"

Eddie stops, his heart stutters in his chest as Buck's face flashes through his mind. The distraught shake to his voice, the way his hands trembled as he reached for Christopher's glasses, hanging around his neck like a noose. Eddie looks up and glances back to where Buck was standing a moment ago and finds him collapsed in a heap on the ground, Hen and Bobby barely holding him up while Chim tries to talk to him and check him over. But Eddie can tell that Buck's not listening, his eyes are glued to Eddie and Christopher kneeling not ten feet away. The pure awe and relief on his face creates a matched pair with the swelling feeling in Eddie's chest as he looks between his son and this man who kept them alive through a tsunami.

Carefully, Eddie gathers Christopher in his arms and rises to his feet. He closes the distance between them until he's standing in front of Buck who looks up at him and then down at Christopher. Buck's eyes shine with unshed tears and his mouth opens and closes as he looks at Eddie again, his blue eyes wide and begging and Eddie reads him instantly.

He crouches down and carefully unfolds his arms to transfer Christopher to Buck. Chris goes easily, his arms wrapping tightly around Buck's neck and his fingers gripping into the filthied material of his once-white t-shirt. Buck lets out a hiccupped gasp and wraps his arms around Christopher like a vice, burning his nose in his curls the same way Eddie did a moment ago.

Hen steps back to let Eddie move closer and Buck sways and lurches a little before Eddie is right there sliding a hand around Buck's shoulders and crouching down next to him.

Buck lifts his head only to look at him. "Eddie, I–"

Eddie just nods and smiles quietly at him as he slides that same hand up the back of Buck's neck and into the damp hair around the back of his head. His scalp is gritty under Eddie's fingers, coated in dirt and who knows what else that was flowing through all that sea water but he's a solid, physical presence under Eddie’s hand and a second wave of relief rushes through him. He could have lost both of his boys today and yet here they are right in front of him. He pulls Buck in by the back of his head and he goes easily, the two of them rock into Eddie's chest until he can get his arms around both Buck and Christopher, gripping them for dear life.

"You're okay." He mumbles into the space between the two of them. "You're both okay."

Buck starts sobbing and Eddie is pretty sure there are tears quietly running down his own cheeks but he can't bring himself to care.

It's a long time before Eddie can dare to let himself let them go and even as Chimney finally gets to look Buck and Christopher over, Chris remains tucked inside the circle of Buck's arms while Eddie crouches behind Buck's back. Buck leans unconsciously against Eddie's knees until Eddie kneels more firmly on the ground behind him and presses his chest flush against Buck's back. He can feel the slow rise and fall of his shoulders with every breath and lets one hand remain resting on his shoulder, admittedly sliding closer until it rests along the side of Buck's neck where he can press his fingers in and feel Buck's pulse beating steadily.

When Chimney eventually clears them both, Bobby gives Eddie a firm nod and lets him take them both home. Hen hugs Buck tightly when he gets to his feet and lets Eddie know that Karen is around the back of the block to pick them up. Buck makes a pained whining noise when Eddie has to take Christopher from his arms but he's swaying on his feet and there's no way he'll be able to walk to Karen's car whilst carrying Chris. He situates Chris on his hip and wraps an arm around Buck's waist to lead him to the car.

Karen hugs them both tightly when she sees them, kissing both Buck and Chris on their cheeks and squeezes Eddie's arm just a little tighter. The three of them bundle into her back seat and Eddie passes Chris back to Buck who accepts him instantly, tucking the boy under his chin and leaning heavily against Eddie's side. He meets Karen's gaze in the review mirror and she smiles softly at him.

The drive back to Eddie's house is quiet and Eddie watches the tiredness quickly seep into both Buck and Christopher's worn-out bodies. When they pull up the driveway Karen asks if they need anything else and Eddie waves her off as he helps the other two out of the vehicle. Buck hands Christopher to him who had nodded off a few minutes ago. Buck looks a little less like he’s in shock now but his expression is still vacant and he won’t meet Eddie’s gaze. They both thank Karen for the ride and then Eddie ushers Buck inside.

He runs a hand over Christopher's head and carefully wakes him. “Hey, buddy. Do you think you can keep your eyes open long enough for a bath?”

Chris nods even as his eyelids droop and Eddie quickly gets him out of his wet clothes and into the warm water. The water runs brown when Eddie washes his hair and he has to bite back the pained noise that threatens to crawl up his throat. God, he nearly lost him, he nearly lost them both. Eddie bundles Chris into clean pajamas and goes to tuck him into bed but at the last minute changes his mind and takes him to his bedroom and carefully deposits him in the middle of the double bed. He looks tiny under Eddie’s covers with his cheeks flushed pink from the warm water and his eyelashes fanning out under his closed eyes.

Buck is still standing in the kitchen when he goes back out to the living room. His hands are clasped tightly to the back of a chair and he’s staring at nothing with his jaw clenched and his shoulders visibly shaking. Eddie reaches out and cups the ball of one shoulder in his hand, squeezing lightly. “Hey, Buck? Why don’t you go have a shower, yeah?”

Buck nods without looking at him and disappears down the hallway. While he’s gone Eddie changes into his pajamas and leaves a pile of dry clothes outside the bathroom door for Buck. He finds the extra bedding in the cupboard and makes up a bed on the couch for Buck. There is no way Eddie is sending him back to his loft tonight.

Buck’s hair is still damp when he comes back into the room with the towel in his hands and one of Eddie’s older LAFD t-shirts stretched across his shoulders. He looks clean and warm though the scraps across his face cause Eddie’s heart to constrict painfully and he has to remind himself that Buck is there, he is okay, he is standing in Eddie’s living room. “Eddie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have–.”

“Come here.” Eddie waves him closer and takes the towel from his hands while he directs Buck to sit on the floor next to the couch. He lets Eddie manoeuver him though he seems confused until Eddie sits behind him on the couch with his knees bracketing Buck’s shoulders and starts to gently rub the towel over Buck’s curls.

“Eddie?”

“Shhh, you really shouldn’t walk around with wet hair, you’ll catch a chill.” Eddie says. It’s what his Abuela use to tell him as a little kid. Buck’s hair is soft in the way it moves under the towel, slowly forming ringlets that spill over the crown of Buck’s head with a few longer parts that brush over his forehead. Eddie wonders sometimes why he insists on gelling it back all of the time. “I don’t blame you, Buck.”

“Eddie–”

“Buck, there is no way you could have known there was going to be a tsunami. You wouldn’t blame any of the other parents who were at the pier with their kids today?”

“Of course not, but–.” Buck’s shoulders stiffen and he tries to turn to face Eddie but Eddie lets the towel fall to the floor next to them and smoots both of his hands over Buck’s shoulders, keeping him firmly in place while he tries to ease some of the tension out of Buck’s tightly wound muscles. Eddie is sure he’ll be sore tomorrow from all the swimming.

“Buck. You and I both know that if you hadn’t been with him, Chris wouldn’t have survived the first wave.” The admission tastes like vinegar in his mouth. “But he did, you’re both right here in this house and he is sleeping soundly right down the hall. I cannot thank you enough for that.”

He lets one hand run up the back of Buck’s head and into the curls the same way he did while Chimney was checking him over. This time though he watches as the clean curls slip and wind through his fingers. Buck lets out one gasping sob and Eddie wraps his arms around him from behind and holds him as Buck cries through the stress and relief of what truly has been a terrible, horrible, no-good day.

“Thank you.” Eddie whispers into his ear and Buck turns his head just enough to press his forehead into the side of Eddie’s arm. He’s not sure how long they stay like that but by the time Buck stops crying he has completely turned in Eddie’s hold until he has his arms around Eddie’s waist and his head resting on Eddie’s thigh as he runs a hand up and down Buck’s back.

“You ready to go to sleep?” He askes even though he knows Buck is—his eyes have been closed for the last ten minutes but he still whines when Eddie’s hand stops moving. “Come on, let's get you up off the floor.”

He lets Buck get himself under the blankets and turns off the main light, leaving only the lamp beside the couch to cast a soft glow over the room. Eddie smiles at Buck and turns to leave the room when Buck calls out to him. “You promise you’re not mad?”

Eddie stops and calls back to him, “I promise, Buck. There is no one I trust with my son more than you.” He means that with every fiber of his being and when he gets into bed and wraps his arms tightly around Christopher he thanks whoever was looking over his boys today that he still has them both within arms reach.

Eddie is woken by a crash as the bedroom door swings open.

“Eddie! Eddie, he’s gone, Chris isn’t in his bed, I can’t find him!” Buck’s chest is heaving when Eddie manages to prop himself up on one elbow and watches in slow motion as Buck recognizes the bundles up lump next to Eddie under the covers and every part of his body deflates with relief. “I went to check on him and he wasn’t there.”

Eddie reaches out and pulls the covers back on the side of the bed closest to Buck. “He’s right here. Here, get in.”

“I, umm.”

“Buck, please.” Eddie coxes him closer. “Quickly, all the warmth is escaping.”

Buck carefully slides under the covers as if he’s convinced Eddie will change his mind. Once he’s laying on his side Eddie pulls the covers back over both of them and shuffles himself and Christopher closer to Buck until Chris is sandwiched between them. It’s a testament to how tired Christopher is that he has not been woken by any of this. Eddie reaches out and tugs on one of Buck’s arms until he lets him pull it over Christopher and arm Eddie’s side. Buck sighs deeply as he buries his nose into the curls at the top of Christopher’s head and Eddie rests his own arm over both of them until he can press his palm firmly between Buck’s shoulder blades.

“We’re all okay.”

#buddie #buddie fic #got emotional over a tiktok #this happened #meegs writes stuff #evan ‘buck’ buckley #eddie diaz #christopher diaz #tsunami arc #911 fox #911 fox fic #911 season 3 #season 3 tsunami #eddie x buck #buck x eddie

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captain--sif · 2 years

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We’ve Been Losing Sleep

Rating G, 4.7k words, Buddie, 911

This was inspired by episode 6.01 and some thoughts I had after reading this tumblr post of @vampydiaz

Read below or on AO3

There’s something about building a life around people that’s so very fragile to changes in their emotions.

Buck is not a stranger to that. He knows that despite how strong he thinks their little ecosystem of people is, it’s still a family that they built around the 118. He hasn’t forgotten how off-balance everything and everyone in his life had felt when Eddie and Chimney hadn’t come to work. He’s not so naive as to believe his own actions and emotions can’t have the same impact.

In theory, that is.

In practice, it still takes him by surprise when Chimney drops down on the couch in the middle of the shift, furtively looking around as if to check that no one else is listening, and asks him "So, Buckley, as Eddie’s best friend, would you happen to know what’s going on with him? He’s been weird the last two shifts." and the only thing Buck can think of is that Buck didn’t hang out with him.

"Uh, no, n- not that I can think of", he says instead, because admitting to Eddie reacting to Buck avoiding him would mean admitting to avoiding him would mean admitting to the reason he’s avoiding him. And if he were ready to admit that, Buck wouldn’t be avoiding him.

Chimney looks at him for so long that Buck fears he doesn’t believe him, but then he just shrugs. "If he doesn’t even tell you…," he starts, but doesn’t actually finish. "Maybe you should ask him about it. I think Cap worries, seeing as we all thought Eddie was better now after going to therapy."

"He is better," Buck says, and even he can tell that it was too defensive, too close to snapping at Chim. He gets the lifted eyebrow that he expected earlier. Buck expects Chimney to see through him to what he actually feels, but no. After a second, he just throws his head back and groans.

"The only thing I achieved is to make you worry too, didn’t I?", he asks, and it’s not really a question. More of an assessment of the situation.

Buck sighs, not really knowing what to answer, still grappling with the fact that his actions have consequences, but Chimney takes it as confirmation and leaves this thread of conversation behind.

Buck is grateful, he is. If only, with Chim declaring the conversation over, it was also over in Buck’s head.

Chimney wasn’t even wrong: Buck was worried now. Because Buck had made a conscious decision. He’s well aware that there’s something about building a life around people that’s so very fragile to changes in their emotions. That includes your own.

And there’s no one in the 118 that Buck has built his life around more than Eddie and Christopher.

He felt his emotions shift, or well, maybe shift isn’t quite the right word. Buck suspects these feelings have been building for a long time, hidden under the surface, a perfectly logical progression of the way Buck and Eddie have been developing alongside each other.

He needed a step back. To sort out his thoughts and feelings before he did something brash and regretted it. He needed to make sure that his emotions would not affect this life that their trio, as well as the 118, have built around each other.

There was care in the planning of this step back. No risks taken. Eddie wasn’t even supposed to notice it. Buck didn’t even actively say no to any plans. When Eddie — or Chris — asked him to, he showed up. He just — didn’t actively bring up his own. There should have been no way this would disrupt their friendship, nevertheless the team dynamic.

Still, Bobby and Chim noticed, and were surely not the only ones. So Buck — Buck has to grit his teeth and deal with his feelings head-on, on his own, without dragging his family into it. It’s not their fault that somewhere along the line he fell in love with his best friend.

Determined, he stands up and smiles at Chim before leaving to go look for Eddie. He finds him at the gym, going at the punching bag a little too hard. And yeah, Buck thinks, wincing, as he leans against the pillar closest to him, there’s definitely something going on with Eddie.

"Hey," Buck says, softly, so as not to startle him. There’s still a little jump in Eddie’s step before he turns around to face him. "You wanna grab some breakfast after our shift?"

"Yeah, sure," Eddie says, smiling at him. There’s a crinkle around his eyes that makes Buck think he hasn’t slept all that well lately. It makes his stomach sink. He’s not yet ready to confront being the cause of it, so he doesn’t ask, but the urge to reach out and fix it is so strong, he nearly caves.

Tomorrow, he promises himself.

Breakfast ends up being a team affair, with Hen and Chimney joining once they get wind of the plan, which… is okay. Buck appreciates the added distance and reprieve, even if it goes against the purpose of the breakfast. He relaxes in the knowledge that at least he was the one initiating the meet-up, despite the way it devolved out of his control, hoping against hope that it would calm the waves of what had thrown Eddie so off-balance at least a little.

By the end of the meal, he’s convinced himself that the best action is to follow Eddie home and just spend the whole day with him and Chris. No doubts about his commitment to being in their lives.

That’s before Chimney says to him: "You’ll be home later, yeah? Maddie wanted to drop by," and what can he say to that? Despite not needing to, ever since she has Chimney and the rest of their support system around, he’d still drop nearly everything for his sister. So if she wants to come around and he doesn’t actually have any other plans yet? Then he’ll be at home.

He can let Eddie catch a few hours of sleep (which, by the look of it, he desperately needs) and then come around after Maddie passed by. Except-

Well, except: now it’s three days later and Buck thinks the universe must have conspired against him, because he still hasn’t seen Eddie outside of his shift and hangouts with the whole team. He’s seen him less even than during the few days that he was actively trying to see him less. Besides making him realize how bad of an idea that forced distance had been (because you never know when life would just keep you apart), it has also come to a point where he’s lying in his bed, phone on his chest, fingers flying over the keyboard, typing "I miss you".

"I can’t write that," he tells himself once he stopped typing, "it’s too obvious. He doesn’t deserve to have to deal with my feelings. That wouldn’t be fair to him."

He spends the rest of the night debating if he’d tell Chimney and Hen if he misses them or not, questioning if he’s holding back for no reason.

There’s a team barbecue at Athena’s and Bobby’s house the next day, and as with everything that happened these last few days, he’s both happy and frustrated about it.

He arrives at the same time as Eddie does. He’d laugh about it if it wasn’t as depressing. He wishes they’d have come in one car, they should have taken just one, but by this point the only way to realize that would be to— Buck doesn’t even dare think it. Get over yourself, he chides himself, Eddie has a couch. Still, he couldn’t get himself to bring that up. He thunks his head on his steering wheel once, before getting out and facing the music.

Eddie stops once he sees him, caught in a way that Buck can empathize with, but it’s still weird. Nothing happened. They haven’t hung out after work, yes, but there’s no reason it should throw both of them out of the loop as much as it did.

It’s Chris that breaks the moment, walking over to Buck to give him a hug. Buck hugs him back tightly. Possibly slightly too tightly, judging by the way Chris is looking between them now. Right, Buck thinks, Chris isn’t a child anymore. If something is off, Chris will be the first to feel the consequences.

Buck sighs, says "Let’s go in?" and tries not to think too hard about the fact that his try at not making his feelings for Eddie ruin their friendship, might just be the thing ruining their friendship instead.

Buck enjoys it too much, arriving with Eddie and Chris, being greeted by their family together, but then again, it also makes him feel more balanced than he’s felt ever since he realized he was in love with Eddie. Buck glances at him, and if he’s not mistaken, Eddie feels it too.

Well, Buck thinks, little victories. Maybe they can get this back after all.

The barbecue is chill. Buck kinda wishes it was just the three of them instead, but if he’s honest, he doesn’t want to miss this either. He doesn’t call them his family for no reason.

There’s an unmatched energy to them all in one room, something he missed when they were thrown apart last year. He brushes elbows with Eddie while they eat and tries not to think about anything else but this. The team and their family around, Eddie by his side.

Once the evening winds down, the kids (teens, Buck corrects himself, they’re all teens now) split from the adults to go do their own thing, and there’s a calm sort of quiet that washes over them. Buck’s sure things have never been quite this stable in their group. The quiet comfort of being in the presence of the people you love only gets broken up by the chatter of the kids, which doesn’t really break it at all.

Up until the point where Chris pipes up: "I think dad and Buck have been fighting."

The atmosphere changes after that. It’s loud enough that everyone heard it, but not so loud as for Chris to be aware that the adults are listening in. Buck doesn’t miss the way Eddie’s jaw tenses. Only then does he catch the curious looks sent toward the two of them.

"I thought you didn’t know what’s going on?," Chimney whispers, his eyebrows lifted in question.

"We’re not actually fighting," Buck hisses in response, irritated. Eddie’s jaw is still tense, and he doesn’t return his gaze when Buck tries to search for it. He feels the attention of everyone too painfully. He knows they’re just worried, but he really really wishes he had gotten the opportunity to deal with this privately, like he wanted to from the beginning.

"Are they yelling at each other?" Denny asks, nearly buried under Chimney’s and Buck’s words.

"No," Chris asserts, "I haven’t heard them yelling, although I assume they do. They’ve been trying to hide it from me. But I’m not blind. No matter how much dad tries to act as if everything is normal, I notice that Buck isn’t hanging out with us."

Buck sees Bobby open his mouth, but they hear May first: "Didn’t you just say that he was at your school play on Tuesday? It can’t be that bad just yet." and Bobby closes his mouth.

There’s a pause over at the children’s table and Buck realizes how weird it is that they all hold their breaths too, eavesdropping on the children’s conversation. They shouldn’t do it. He should take Eddie to the side, possibly Christopher too, and talk to them about it, but Buck can’t bring himself to open his mouth, acknowledge what they’re hearing in any way. He assumes the others don’t quite know what to say either.

"He may have gone to my school play, but he didn’t come home with us after", Chris says finally, "He didn’t cook for us at all and he only ate at our place once. When we went to the zoo last week, we took two cars." He sounds disgusted. "We never take two cars to the zoo."

"For one and a half weeks, this doesn’t sound too weird, maybe he just didn’t have time."

"You may not think it’s weird, but I know Buck. This is weird for him."

Despite trying to suppress it, there’s a smile creeping onto Buck’s face at this declaration. He looks down to hide it. Now is not the time. He shouldn’t be happy about Chris knowing him when he’s, albeit unwittingly, so very publicly exposing him.

He looks back up once he’s schooled his features to see his sister studying him. She lifts her eyebrows once, then softly elbows Chimney in the side. He startles, looks at Maddie, then at Buck. He sighs, grins, and finally says to the table at large: "Now that Cap’s back, I’d like to take a formal vote on who was a better interim captain, Hen or me?"

"Oh God, not this question again," someone says, but Buck isn’t paying attention anymore. He’s just glad the table is loud and animated again, the focus shifted away from him and Eddie. He risks a glance at the man next to him, finding him still with his jaw clenched and his eyes locked on some undisclosed point straight in front of him. Buck lets his shoulders sink. They’ll talk this out once they’re away from prying ears, he promises himself.

He hears his sister whisper "You don’t even care about that" and turns back to the people in front of him just in time to see Chimney shrug.

"But it gets them talking."

Yeah, it really does, Buck thinks, thankful. He sends Chimney a smile that the other acknowledges with a nod. Yeah, Buck thinks, there’s a reason he thinks of them as his family.

They manage to act like everything is mostly normal for the rest of the evening. When they get up to leave at the same time, it’s not a coordinated effort, it just happens. Habit, Buck supposes, following Eddie and Chris out of the house.

Bobby squeezes his hand a little too hard when they say goodbye, with an imploring look on his face that Buck knows means he’s worrying.

"It’s just a misunderstanding," Buck tells him and Athena when he thinks the other two aren’t listening, "you don’t have to worry."

Athena lifts her eyebrows in that way that always makes Buck think that she’s doubting every word he says. He slinks away before she can voice any of her doubts.

He can’t help but turn around on the way to his car, observing Eddie and Chris from a distance as they get into their own. "We never take two cars," he hears Christopher’s voice say in his head. Eddie looks up and lifts the corner of his mouth in a crooked smile when he finds Buck already watching him. Buck raises his hand in a wave and immediately wants to disappear into the ground in shame.

This is getting ridiculous, he thinks, and finally places himself behind the wheel, before he manages to embarrass himself further.

He’s got half a mind to follow their taillights but thinks better of it. Or worse. He’s not even sure anymore. It’s only because he has to concentrate on the road that he doesn’t thump his head against the steering wheel. How did everything get so messy?

He tosses and turns that night again, his hand routinely moving to grab his phone and send Eddie a message. What does he even want to tell him? He’s half caught between the "I miss you" he never sent and just coming out to ask if he can sleep on Eddie’s couch that night. As usual, he decides to do neither.

Buck gets up early the next morning, gets some of the pent-up energy out in a workout, then decides on a plan of action while under the shower.

By the time Maddie calls, he’s dressed (well-dressed even, if he dares to say so) and already half out the door.

"Is this urgent?," he asks her, "I’m kind of on the move."

"Not super urgent," she says while he switches the phone to his other hand, so he can lock the door behind him, "I just wanted to check in." There’s a pause. "Ask you how you are."

"I’m fine."

She sounds unconvinced. "Are you sure? Chimney and I have been worrying. He says Eddie has been weird lately, and now Christopher thinks you two are fighting."

"We’re not."

"But he thinks you are, so: Are you okay?"

Buck stops to open his car. "That’s what I’m trying to find out," he says as he climbs in.

"You’re on your way to Eddie’s? At 8:30 in the morning?"

"Yeah," he replies distractedly, trying to connect his phone to the car radio, so he can keep talking to her while he drives. It doesn’t seem like she plans to hang up soon. "He’ll be back from bringing Chris to school right about now. If he stopped by the store, we should arrive at roughly the same time."

There’s a pause on the other end of the line while Buck finally starts the car.

"You are actually spending so much time with them that you can go to Christopher’s school event, to the zoo, and to dinner with them over the course of only ten days and it’ll be so little that Christopher thinks it’s weird. Huh. I wasn’t aware of that."

"Yeah, well," Buck admits, "me neither, if I’m quite honest. I thought they wouldn’t notice if I showed up less for just a few days."

Maddie is silent for a few seconds. "That’s not what I meant." Then: "Showing up less was a conscious decision?"

"Look, Maddie, I’m not down to get psychoanalyzed this early in the morning."

"But you’re willing to show up on Eddie’s doorstep?"

Buck sighs. "I don’t want this to become a bigger thing than it already is. This," he motions around him, despite his sister not being able to see, "already got way out of hand. I don’t need everyone else to be all up in our business."

"Our business," Maddie repeats, flat.

"Yes. This is something that only concerns Eddie and me."

"It sure is."

"And Christopher a little bit."

"Uh-huh."

"He kinda got in the middle of it. Wasn’t really fair of me. Us. Whatever."

"Okay," Maddie says, in a way that makes Buck think the gears in her head are turning, "I will leave you to it then." Pause. "If you do want to talk about it at some point, though, to someone who isn’t Eddie, I’m here."

Buck smiles. "Thanks. I know that."

He reaches Eddie’s front porch shortly after they hang up. The jeep isn’t parked out front, which means Buck is a little earlier than expected. He tries the doorbell anyway, even if he knows that Eddie won’t answer, and sits down on the stoop once he got the confirmation.

It doesn’t take long for Eddie to appear, though, because Buck knows his stuff. To no surprise, the trunk is filled with groceries, and Buck might be nervous, but getting up to help Eddie carry the bags is comfortable, ordinary even. He allows himself to relax a little when the confused look on Eddie’s face mellows out into a grateful smile. He lets their shoulders brush in a reassuring gesture and silently follows Eddie inside.

"Coffee?" Eddie asks once they put away the groceries.

"Yeah," Buck replies and sits down at the kitchen table while Eddie is preparing their mugs.

"Not that I’m not glad to see you," Eddie says, and Buck braces himself for what’s coming next, "but you’ve been, as Chris rightfully said, around much less, so this," he gestures between the two of them, "feels like you’re here for a specific reason."

Buck winces. "Yes and no."

Eddie lifts his eyebrows as he sits down in front of him.

Since going to therapy Eddie has been patient, and it’s great, usually, Buck loves that for Eddie, loves to see him healing. But it also means that it’s left to Buck now to elaborate because Eddie will wait.

"I want to apologize", he says, finally.

"What for?" Eddie asks, and Buck even believes him that he doesn’t know.

Sheepishly, he explains: "For being around less without an explanation."

If possible, Eddie’s eyebrows lift even higher. "Buck, you don’t have to apologize for that. You have your own life. That’s okay."

"Don’t tell me it’s okay when Chris is worried because he thinks we’re fighting, and Chimney tells me you’ve been off. Something I hadn’t known at that point, by the way, because you didn’t talk to me about it."

"Because it’s not fair of us to put that on you."

"No," Buck disagrees, "it was unfair of me to stay away and not explain myself."

"You don’t owe us anything!"

They stare at each other in silence.

"Don’t I?" Buck asks quietly.

"No, Buck," Eddie says, horrified, "don’t ever think that you have to spend time with us because you owe it to us. We both want you with us, Chris and me, yes, but only if you want to be there too."

A pained laugh leaves Buck’s throat. "You think that’s what this is about? That I don’t want to be here?"

"Isn’t it?" Eddie asks, his brows furrowed "I’m not accusing you of not wanting to spend time with us anymore. But you have your own life too. Only because you’ve been doing it for a while, doesn’t mean we can expect you to just keep spending time all your time with us."

"I never want to leave," Buck blurts out. Eddie blinks at him.

There are a few moments of silence, while they both process what Buck just said.

Buck didn’t mean to say that. The whole point of… everything, essentially, was not to put this on Eddie. He lifts his hand to run his fingers through his hair and laughs nervously. "Can we just forget I said that?"

"No," Eddie replies with a conviction that surprises Buck. "This goes both ways. You want me to talk about my issues, I want you to talk to me about yours." He fixes Buck with his gaze. "What is the problem about this in your opinion?"

Buck can’t say it. But he also can’t lie to Eddie, that’s not the relationship they have. "I’ve had," he starts cautiously, "some things I needed to think about, that I didn’t want to burden you with." So far, so good. "So I took some time to think about it on my own, but it doesn’t matter, because I burdened you anyway."

"You’re not a burden, Buck."

"You keep saying that, but then it proves to be different anyway."

Eddie sighs. "Is it so hard to believe that me being off was more about me than about you?"

"Yes," Buck says, without hesitating. "You can’t explain away what Christopher said at Athena’s and Bobby’s."

"I wasn’t sleeping well," Eddie admits reluctantly, and grits his teeth in the way that Buck recognizes as the hint that he’s gonna do something that he’s still struggling with, "because I was missing you."

He must see something on Buck’s face because he adds: "But that’s not your responsibility unless you are actively keeping me from sleeping. Which you aren’t." He levels Buck with an imploring look, seemingly anticipating the retort that’s sitting on Buck’s tongue. No, not seemingly. Buck knows that’s what Eddie is doing.

"So, what now?" Eddie asks once Buck has swallowed his reply.

"I’ll go back to how it was before, spend more time with you again."

"So you’ve finished thinking about whatever you were thinking about?"

"No," Buck says, "but this is more important."

"Do you need more time to yourself? I can tell Christopher that’s what you’re doing if you’re worried about him."

"Eddie," Buck calmly lays his hand on Eddie’s wrist over the kitchen table, "what are you doing?"

"Giving you space if that’s what you need."

"I don’t want space," Buck says, because he’s still not sure what he needs, but wanting is less of a problem, "do you?"

"No." Eddie’s face distorts in disgust at the insinuation. "I never want space from you." He smiles crookedly. "If that wasn’t clear enough from me admitting I don’t sleep very well when we’re apart."

Buck laughs and squeezes Eddie’s wrist.

"Then it’s decided," he says and leans back, taking his hand with him. "You mind if I stay the day then?"

Eddie smiles. He gets up to collect their empty coffee mugs and move them to the sink. "Stay the day," he says, "hell, stay the night if you want. Stay as long as you like."

There’s a stumble in Eddie’s step as he seems to realize what has just left his mouth. Buck’s breath hitches. He watches Eddie try covering it up by grabbing a sponge and start furiously scrubbing one of the mugs. His face is turned away in a way that is obviously very deliberate.

It’s all remarkably easy in the end, Buck thinks. He follows Eddie to the sink, grabbing a dishtowel and leaning with his back against the counter while he waits for Eddie to pass him the first mug to dry off. He watches Eddie’s profile, as his jaw tenses and relaxes, refusing to look in Buck’s direction.

"Do you want to know what thought it was that made me take some time to think about?", Buck asks, and it fills him with a thrill that he is actually going to bring this up.

Eddie does look up at him at that, passing him the wet mug. Buck knows it’s a testament to how rattled he is that he doesn’t take the piss out of him for bringing it up after all, after going to such great lengths trying to avoid it.

"We built our lives around each other," Buck explains, unable to just go for the throat. He’ll build the whole context around it, for both of them. "I built mine around you and Christopher, and it seems you two built yours just as much around me."

Eddie huffs, but there’s a smile playing around his lips now. "And that took you by surprise?" Buck knows he’s teasing.

"No, I knew that," Buck returns Eddie’s smile. "We built our lives around each other as best friends, and I couldn’t destroy that because I wear my heart on my sleeve and have terrible impulse control."

Eddie now turns to Buck fully, leaning his hip against the sink. "You couldn’t destroy this," he gestures between the two of them, "that easily. We’re steadier than that."

"I love you," Buck says. Fuck it, if he skips a few steps in the process. Eddie nearly drops the sponge that is still in his hand.

"So you’re staying the night, then," he says.

Buck laughs. "Ideally, yeah."

"Okay," Eddie says, and reaches into the sink to pass Buck the second mug.

Buck laughs again but dries it off obediently.

"What’s the plan for today?"

"You know that I love you too, right?" Eddie says as they slip under the covers of his bed that evening.

Buck smiles, interlacing their fingers between them. "I know."

"Good," Eddie says, as his other hand wanders to Buck’s cheek, drawing his face closer. He drops a short kiss on Buck’s lips before closing his eyes.

"Do you think you’ll sleep better tonight?" Buck traces the lines of Eddie’s face with his eyes, worrying his lip in the process.

"You’re here," Eddie says, as if that explains everything, and drags Buck even closer, tangling their legs together.

Yeah, Buck thinks, as his eyes fall shut too, they’ll both sleep well tonight.

Also check this out on AO3

#buddie #buddie fic #911 fox #911 fox fic #911 fic #evan buck buckley #evan buck buckley fic #eddie diaz #eddie diaz fic #buck / eddie #chimney and buck are bros #fan fic #sif writes #so happy about finally writing something again

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snarkythewoecrow · 1 year

Link

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) Characters: Evan "Buck" Buckley, Christopher Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, Worried Eddie Diaz, Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Christopher Diaz Has Two Dads, Christopher Diaz is a Sweetheart, Christopher Diaz Knows First Aid, First Aid, Minor Injuries, Hiking, Fluff and Humor, Domestic, Christopher is just like his dad in so many ways

Summary:

Christopher scrunched his face, then stopped rummaging through his pack to grab something from the ground—something that turned out to be his phone.

“No, nope—who do you think you’re calling?” he asked, trying to reach for it, but Christopher had already hit the button, dialing someone—whom he’d bet anything was his father.

Christopher pulled away, out of reach, phone to his ear, then a moment later saying, “Yeah, I’m okay, dad—yeah, I know—no, but he fell out of a tree—”

“He is fine, though!” Buck yelled, hoping to stop the inevitable freakout from Eddie. “Eddie, do you hear me? I’m fine!”

--or--

Buck takes Chris out for a light hike, somehow ends up falling out of a tree, and Chris patches him up while waiting for his dad to arrive.

#911 fic #911 fox fic #buddie fic #buddie #christopher diaz #snark writes

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rarecarebears · 2 years

Text

Christopher Diaz, The All-Knowing

Here’s a fic I started (my very first, holy shit) waaaaaay before season 5 actually started. It feels incomplete but I decided to finally post it. Feel free to give me feedback!

Eddie pulls up to the Grant-Nash household feeling almost as giddy as Christopher has been acting since the night before. It's been a while since the entire 118 have been able to gather at one house on account of the seemingly never-ending pandemic. Now that all the adults were officially vaccinated, Athena was set on giving Bobby and Eddie a proper “welcome home” barbecue even though it’s been weeks since they both left the hospital.

Eddie’s missed seeing his entire family—short house visits and sporadic facetime calls just weren’t cutting it anymore. And ever since Buck had stopped taking up residence on his couch he felt even more disconnected from the 118. He especially wants to see Buck. Eddie hasn’t seen him since he moved in with Chimney in order to help out while Maddie stayed at a facility that specializes in PPD. It was only supposed to be while she was gone, but when she came back, Buck had a hard time leaving her side and Eddie didn’t blame him one bit. Maddie is Buck’s whole world.

“Okay, so I’m only going to be gone for like, a few weeks, max! Then I’ll come straight back, I promise.” Buck’s grabbing his remaining belongings and shoving them haphazardly into his duffel while Eddie watches from the kitchen doorway. “I just want Chimney to have some extra help while Maddie’s away and I figure I can take over uncle stuff for Albert, that way he can have the loft to himself for studying. It doesn’t sound like she’s gonna stay at the facility all that long-”

“Buck! Buck, it’s okay, I already told you there’s no need to explain. And stay as long as you all need,” Eddie clears his throat and tries to sound as casual as possible, “Ana actually promised to come by to help me out when I told her you were moving in with Chim for a bit.” Eddie knows he shouldn’t feel weird about his girlfriend wanting to support him while he’s injured but he can’t shake the uncomfortable itch that something is off. It’s probably not normal to be nervous of being left alone with the woman he’s been dating for months.

Buck stops his frantic movements and turns away from Eddie to frown at the living room couch. “Uhh, right. Yo-Your girlfriend,” he says awkwardly. Then, so quietly Eddie almost misses it, “That’s probably way more appropriate, of course.” Eddie’s about ask him for clarification about the implied inappropriateness when Buck suddenly turns to yell in the general direction of the hallway, effectively cutting him off.

“CHRIS! Buddy, I’m taking off. Come give me a hug!” Eddie tries not to mope too openly.

“Okay, buddy, you know the rules. Mask stays on and you gotta stay outside with us.” Eddie grabs the grocery bag perched in the backseat and runs around to help Christopher out onto the curb.

“Okay, dad. I got it.” As soon as he’s settled into his crutches, Christopher is off and Eddie has to catch up to him after closing the truck door. Any lingering doubts he had about bringing Christopher along disappear as soon as Athena opens the door.

“Christopher! Hey, baby. We have missed you so much!” Athena clutches Christopher tightly and glances up at Eddie. “Eddie! Come on in, both of you. I thought I told you just to bring yourselves,” she admonishes.

“Sparkling cider,” Eddie explains sheepishly, holding the grocery bag up with his good arm. “We are celebrating, after all.”

“Well that was very thoughtful of you, Eddie. Hey, sling’s off! I hope that means you’re healing up nicely?” She grabs the bag from Eddie and places a gentle hand on his cheek.

“PT’s going pretty good. Still got some stiffness, so I use the sling when I need it.” Eddie says, looking anywhere but Athena’s eyes. Physical healing is going relatively great, he’s even able to drive for short periods of time. Just… everything else —like the nightmares and the hyper vigilance— that he’s struggling with. More so with Buck gone, which. Fuck. He doesn’t want to dwell on why everything is harder without Buck around. Sensing his cageyness, Athena pats his cheek gently and backs off a bit. Eddie’s grateful for the space. He figures if anyone would understand, it would be Athena.

“Okay. Well I hope you’re doing okay, and if you’re not, you know Bobby and I are always here for you and Chris, alright? Day or night, just a phone call away.” She says kindly, watching him with the softest eyes. Eddie feels his own eyes sting immediately.

He thinks about nightly Zoom calls with his parents that quickly became weekly calls because he couldn’t stand their judgemental eyes and not so subtle suggestions to have Chris stay with them in Texas while Eddie got back on his feet. Their frostiness was worlds away from Bobby and Athena’s unconditional support that never failed to shock the hell out of him. Mercifully, Athena turns away to take the cider to the fridge so Eddie and his teary eyes catch a break.

“That means a lot, Athena. Thank you.” She waves him off, easily. “We’re family. There’s no need to thank me. And today’s about family. So make yourself a plate and join everyone.”

Eddie clears his throat in order to call out to Christopher and get him to eat but before he can, he catches sight of his son outside, sandwiched in a complicated group hug with Harry and Denny. Their infectious joy is palpable, even through their tiny masks.

Eddie clears his throat again and looks away. Pull it together, he tells himself. He’s been over for all of five minutes and he’s already unbearably emotional.

Eddie moves his gaze towards the adults outside which turns out to be a mistake. He spots Buck openly watching the boys with a ridiculously soft expression on his face. It’s the first time Eddie has seen him since he left -that was not through a screen- and it floors him a little bit.

He sighs and grabs a plate to head outside.

“Hey man, glad to see you could make it!”

“Eddie!”

“There he is!”

“Hey Eddie, it’s so good to see you.”

Eddie feels his heart soar at the warm welcome. He’s missed being with them all together. God, he loves these people so much.

“Don’t get up, Bobby. Man, it’s good to see you too!” He bends down awkwardly to embrace Bobby in his seat. Eddie moves on to clap Michael on the shoulder good naturedly where he’s standing by the grill and then turns to hug Hen and Chimney too.

“You’re not wearing your sling anymore.”

Eddie sighs. “Hello, to you too, Buck.” He’s aiming for teasing, but it comes out a little too pointed. He’s missed having Buck at home a lot. It’s no one’s fault that he left, but his absence has still left him feeling a little hollow and a lot cranky.

He turns around to find Buck with his hands on his hips, hardly deterred. “Hello, Eddie. Why aren’t you wearing your sling?”

Eddie doesn’t roll his eyes but it’s a damn near thing. “My physical therapist and doctor agreed on my progress and told me I could rely on the sling less as long as I take it easy.” Eddie feels a little guilty for not mentioning it on their last call, but stupidly, he kind of wanted it to be a surprise. He goes to move his injured side to show off his new mobility but ends up biting back a wince instead. Buck’s eagle eyed gaze catches the aborted move easily.

He’s clearly about to speak his mind when Bobby cuts him off.

“Eddie, I’m so glad you’ve finally joined us. Now Buck here can fret over someone else.” Bobby says, shooting Buck a look that’s equal parts fond and exasperated. Eddie can relate so well it physically aches.

“I was not fretting! I was being accommodating.” Buck pouts. Eddie finds it ridiculously endearing, but he tries his best to keep his face neutral. He’s been on the receiving end of Buck’s fretting enough times to know just how accommodating he can be.

“You should see him with Maddie and Jee, Buck gets downright frantic.” Chimney, on the other hand, is watching Buck with unabashed affection.

“It’s not my fault the people I love keep getting hurt,” Buck mumbles. Eddie feels his stomach do a funny flip at that, which means his guard is down long enough for Buck to take the empty plate from his hands.

“Now have a seat, Eddie. I can fill your plate.” The stern edge to his voice is softened by the worry written all over his face. He looks around suddenly.

“Where’d Chris go? Is he gonna eat too?” This time, Eddie is powerless to stop the goofy grin that takes over his face. Buck’s unwavering devotion to Christopher never fails to bowl Eddie completely over.

Christopher, as if summoned, pops up behind Eddie’s chair.

“Christopher! I’m so glad you’re here. We’ve really missed you.” Bobby greets Chris warmly, reaching a hand over the table to give Chris’ shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“Hey, Cap. I missed you guys too. Thanks for inviting us.” Chris ducks his head bashfully and makes his way around the table to give the adults a proper greeting. He starts by hugging Bobby who flounders a bit at the easy affection.

“Well, you know you're always welcome here.” Eddie catches Bobby’s eye over Chris’ head and if they’ve both gone a little weepy, well that’s nobody else’s business.

Michael ruffles Chris’ hair gently when he passes by with a side hug and Hen and Chim crouch down to get theirs.

“I have missed these hugs so much!” Hen gushes.

“Buddy, I’m so glad you’re finally here. Buck’s been a total drag. It’s probably because he missed his best bud,” Chim stage whispers, tossing a wink in Buck’s general direction.

“Hey!”

“Where’s baby Jee?” Chris asks curiously, peering behind Chimney’s legs as if he might be hiding the baby from view. Thanks to Uncle Buck, Chris has already seen a million photos of Jee-Yun. He’s been dying to meet her ever since Buck promised him he could hold her.

“Baby Jee is having a girls night with Maddie and Karen,” Chim replies easily, his eyes turning a little sad. “But you’re gonna get to meet her real soon, I promise.”

“Cool!” Placated, Chris turns to Eddie abruptly. “Dad, I’m hungry.”

“Well just tell me what you’re in the mood for, little man, I gotcha covered!” Buck says enthusiastically, gazing at Christopher with his heart eyes turned up to eleven. Eddie marvels at Buck’s undisguised tenderness, and briefly wonders why Chris didn’t ambush Buck first. Chris always seeks out Buck first.

“I want dad to do it,” Chris replies stiffly. Eddie tilts his head at that. Chris never turns down the chance to be catered to by Buck. Something is clearly up.

“Well, buddy, I was hoping we could give your dad some rest after he drove you guys here. Besides, I'll let you get as many desserts as you want.” Buck winks at Chris, oblivious to the tension that’s started to form around him.

“So what, you care about me and dad again?” Chris asks coolly.

Everyone freezes. Eddie’s eyes bug out so wide, he’s surprised they don’t fall right out of his head. When he looks up at Buck, he looks like he’s been sucker punched. His face has gone red and his expression is twisted in anguish. Buck looks back at Eddie as if searching for answers that Eddie regrettably doesn’t have for him.

“Christopher, uh, I-I told you, remember? Maddie is sick and she and Chim have a brand new baby. I wanted to help her for a little bit.” Buck puts the plates on the table and slowly crouches down to Chris’s level, moving as if he’s approaching a wounded animal.

“Yeah, or maybe you just ditched us for your girlfriend.” Eddie feels his eyebrows fly up to his hairline. Chris’s voice is venomous in a way Eddie didn’t know him capable of. “I saw you kiss Taylor Kelly on the mouth at dad’s welcome home party.”

“Christopher,” Eddie warns weakly. Eddie has absolutely no idea what to say to that. Christopher might as well have clobbered him over the head with a bat, Eddie’s so shocked. He thinks back to every moment leading up to this, between now and telling Christopher about the barbecue, trying to figure out when Chris ever hinted at being mad at Buck of all people.

Buck puts up a hand to stop Eddie, his eyes never leaving Chris.

“Chris I'm so so sorry that I left you guys in a pinch. I just figured that with Carla and Ana around, you guys would be okay.” His voice is so gentle it makes Eddie’s heart squeeze in his chest. But Buck just brought up Ana which means—

“Dad broke up with Ana.” Michael, Hen and Chimney take that particular bomb drop as their cue to make themselves scarce. There’s a flurry of activity as they all make a break for it while poor Bobby just watches on helplessly from his seat. Eddie sympathizes.

Buck’s face does a complicated thing, but before Eddie has a chance to decipher it, he settles back on the gentle patience he always regards Chris with when he feels a mega-tantrum coming.

“Is that why you’re upset? You miss Ana?” Buck prods, soft as ever.

“No! I’m upset because you’re a liar!” Chris snaps. Buck rears back like he’s been slapped. Chris has never directed so much anger at him and it’s clearly as much a shock to his system as it is to Eddie’s.

“Christopher! That’s enough!” Eddie interjects firmly. Judging by the devastation on his face, Buck is definitely already spiraling about this and Eddie needs to get some kind of control of the situation.

“I’m just expressing my feelings like you taught me, dad,” Chris replies petulantly, his glasses now foggy from the angry puffs of breath coming through his mask. Jesus Christ. Eddie gapes at him like a fish, at a loss for words once more.

Buck regains his composure first. “I’m really glad you’re being honest buddy,” he says earnestly and Eddie tries not to let his incredulity show on his face so as to not undermine him. Buck is such a golden retriever. “But I promise I never ever meant to hurt you or make you feel forgotten.” Eddie watches as Buck’s eyes become glassy and fuck.

Everyone knows Buck has abandonment issues the size of Texas and Eddie can practically feel the guilt rolling off him in waves. Buck was so cut up about not being there for Chris after the lawsuit, Eddie can only imagine the self-deprecating abuse going through his head right now. He so desperately wants to scoop both his boys up and take them home, far away from this argument.

Christopher refuses to relent and he delivers a final blow,“Well, you did. And you hurt dad too! You said you weren’t going anywhere and you did! You’re a liar!”

He turns away and bounds into the house as quickly as he can on his crutches and slams the sliding door. Eddie has to force himself not to follow, knowing that Chris needs space and that right now, an intervention could fairly lead to a more explosive meltdown.

Buck falls out of his crouch and lands on his butt as he raises his hands up in front of him in the universal signal of what the fuck?!

Eddie agrees with the sentiment wholeheartedly.

Chimney lets out a low whistle as he joins them to sit at the table. “Well, that sure escalated quickly.”

“Buck, I’m so sorry, I have no idea where that came from. He never hinted at being mad at you, not once! We definitely did not discuss how we felt about you not being at the house. And you haven’t hurt me. I’ve got no idea what he’s talking about.” Eddie flounders, trying to placate Buck and himself at the same time. He knows he’s definitely been in his feelings about the Buck shaped hole on his couch, but he was trying his best to put on a brave face for Christopher. He would sooner eat his own hand then try to turn his kid against Buck.

“You broke up with Ana?” Buck asks, finally looking Eddie in the eye, his face unreadable. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Buck, it's not a big deal. We just kind of—,” he gestures wildly with his good hand, trying to find the words, “fizzled out, I guess.” He desperately tries to ignore the twin looks of curiosity he knows Chimney and Bobby are wearing. He is so stupid. He should have known Ana would have come up today.

“I wish you would have told me, Eddie. You know I would have come around if I knew you were down an extra pair of hands.”

Eddie clamps mouth shut and feels his lips twist. He’s never once viewed Buck as an “extra pair of hands”. Buck was so much more than that to him and Chris. And as much as he loves his son, he knows his kid is full of crap. Chris wasn’t mad because he thought Buck was a liar; Chris was angry because he hadn’t seen him in weeks and he missed his Buck like crazy.

“Your sister needs you right now, Buck. I’m really glad you can be there for her,” Eddie says, and it's true. As much as Buck’s absence hurt like hell for him and Chris, he knew Buck was where he needed to be and Eddie supported him a thousand percent.

“Chris will come around Buck, he will. He’s a smart kid,” Bobby chimes in kindly.

“Buckaroo, maybe it’s time we revisit your help around the apartment, huh?” Chimney says gently.

“Chimney, c'mon man, I can’t do that to you guys.” Buck’s eyes go a little wild with panic so Chimney tries a different approach. He puts his hands up before Buck can continue.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t come around at all, bud. Maybe just split the uncle duties with Albert a little more evenly, huh? We all know you’re the godfather, okay. No need to prove it.” he jokes. Buck finally gets up from the ground to drop heavily into the seat next to Eddie. He scrubs his hands a little roughly through his hair and Eddie wants so badly to reach out and comfort him but he’s very aware of his extremely perceptive Captain sitting across from him.

“Chim, she’s my sister.”

“Maddie’s doing a lot better, Buck. The therapy and the meds are slowly doing what they’re supposed to. You and I were just talking about how she’s been more like herself these past few days than she’s been in a while. She won’t fall apart if you take a step back, I promise. Between you, Hen and Karen, the Lees and Albert, we’re spoiled rotten.”

Chimney reaches a placating hand across the table to Buck.

“Just let me talk to Chris. I’m sure he’ll understand,” Eddie tries, knowing that it would be unfair of him to ask Buck to ditch his sister just because his kid threw a tantrum. Besides, he really needs to talk to Chris about that damn attitude.

As if sensing his thoughts, Buck’s eyes widen comically. “No Eddie, don’t reprimand him. It’s like he said, he was just expressing his feelings. I don’t want him to think he’ll get in trouble for expressing himself.” Eddie can actually feel his eyes twitch from the restraint it takes not to roll them. He doesn’t know what he expected from the man who refuses to play the bad cop, ever.

“Cut the crap, Buck. You just don’t want him to get even more upset with you.”

“Well that too, obviously. Did you see the way he looked at me? I thought he was gonna say the “H” word.”

Eddie scrunches up his face. “Hell?”

“No! Hate. I thought he was gonna say he hates me,” Buck says mostly to himself. Bobby snorts and Buck shoots him a wounded look.

“Just let me talk to him, you’re only going to make him angry, Eddie.” Eddie balks at that. What an idiot.

“Buck, do you hear yourself? He’s a ten year old. Not an ancient deity.”

“I don’t know, Eddie,” Chimney starts, looking a little shifty. “Don’t you ever get the vibe that Chris just knows things? He’s super wise, man. Kind of like he might be omnipresent, you know?” Buck nods his head vigorously and Bobby punches out an incredulous laugh.

And okay, maybe Chimney has a point there. There was definitely something pointed about the things Chris threw in Buck’s face. His absence, Ana, Taylor. Eddie got the sinking feeling Christopher thought he was defending his honor or something. What if Eddie wasn’t subtle as he thought? What if his son had caught on to his feelings for Buck? Eddie had just caught on to his own feelings for Buck.

“Chim, you’re really not helping, man.” Eddie says hoarsely. He really needs to talk to his son.

The sliding door opens behind him and Buck turns around fast enough to get whiplash. He visibly deflates when he sees Athena coming outside.

“Hey everybody, I was just putting some finishing touches on dessert. Do you guys know why Christopher locked himself in the bathroom?”

“Christopher is upset that Buck hasn’t been around the house as much,” Bobby tells his wife sagely. Athena aws and comes up behind Buck to squeeze his shoulders. Eddie tries not to overthink Bobby’s usage of the house, like his and Buck’s home are the same in everyone’s eyes.

“He’ll get over it, Buckaroo. Christopher idolizes you. Between quarantine and you being there for him and Eddie with his injury you guys were living in each other’s pockets. You moving back out has been a big change for him. He’ll adjust. He just needs time.” She pinches Buck’s cheek affectionately.

“He hates me. He called me a liar.” Buck whines pitifully.

“Nope. Sounds like he just hates your girlfriend.” Chimney supplies unhelpfully. Eddie tries his damndest not to preen at that. Judging by Bobby’s curious gaze he’s unsuccessful. Whatever. He can feel bad about enjoying that particular revelation later. Taylor Kelly is shady as hell. Maybe Christopher’s just a really good judge of character.

“I don’t get why. He’s never really spent time with her, you know? In fact, when I introduced her at Eddie’s place, he seemed to like her. He thought it was cool that she was on TV.” Buck is looking down at the table like it will give him the answers to where he went wrong.

“Was that before or after he saw you kissing her ‘on the mouth’?” Chimney parrots smugly. Eddie makes a face at him ready to protest, but Athena tenses behind Buck.

“Hold on. ‘On TV’. Buck… are you dating Taylor Kelly?” She narrows her eyes and her grip on Buck’s shoulders looks a little tighter than it did a minute ago. Eddie doesn’t miss the way Bobby’s eyes bug out a fraction.

“Uhh, yeah. I thought you knew, Athena?” Buck says, his misery slowly dissipating into confusion. Eddie feels tension creep up his neck and he suspects another conversation is about to devolve into something less than civil. He would kill for a beer right now.

“I most certainly did not know this convenient bit of information.” She directs pointedly at Bobby. She drops her hands from their perch to cross her arms over her chest. Uh oh, this might get ugly. Where he at least tries to hide his disdain for Taylor, Athena makes no such attempt. It’s probably left over resentment from the dosing incident but Eddie suspects it has something to do with their careers clashing as well. Cops with protocol and journalists with agendas typically don’t mix.

Buck turns around to face her with a bewildered look on his face. “Hold on, I thought you liked Taylor? She came over here for breakfast after the treasure hunt!” Buck’s tone has turned accusatory and Eddie shares a desperate look with Bobby.

“I liked her fine when she was your acquaintance who was helping us find five million dollars.” Eddie really isn’t sorry about feeling smug about that particular dig.

“You also seemed to like her just fine when she was helping us find the criminal who hit Sue Blevins with his car.” Buck answers coolly and Eddie can’t help but think he sounds a lot like Christopher did earlier. He peeks at Bobby and finds him gaping at the tennis match before him, much like Eddie was doing earlier.

Chim scampers away again without so much as a backward glance, typing furiously on his phone as he goes, no doubt filling Maddie in on the chaos she’s missing. Hen quickly takes his seat looking a little too entertained for Eddie’s taste and without taking her eyes off of Buck and Athena, she gives Bobby a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

“First of all, I found the criminal,” Athena quips, pointing her finger dangerously at Buck. Buck just scoffs at that and Bobby’s eyes bug out further. Michael comes back to stand behind Bobby, clearly trying to figure out how to put a stop to this. Eddie spares a glance at Denny and Harry, but they’re far too entertained with Harry’s Nintendo Switch to pay attention to the adults. Eddie envies them. Maybe it’s time to check on Chris.

“-And second of all, that woman was just doing her job by reporting the news. Kind of like that time that she was supposed to be doing her job but decided to film Bobby after he was drugged against his will instead.”

Buck’s mouth snaps shut. Looking chastised he turns and glances at Bobby from under his lashes. Eddie winces, knowing full well that Buck is still sore about what Taylor did and how Buck feels he encouraged her. Eddie turns back to look at Athena and it’s obvious that she already feels bad about throwing that in his face.

“Buck, we all know that was a long time ago, and you’re not to blame for someone else’s actions,” Bobby says gently, shooting his wife a look. “You’re an adult and you can date whoever you want. Now, why don’t we all cool down for a minute. Buck, you should take some food inside to Christopher and see if he’s ready to talk, hmm?” Eddie is glad his Captain has finally decided to make an appearance. He really has no idea what’s in the air today but he knows he can’t take much more of it. Screw the beer. He wants a fat glass of wine.

Buck stands up and grabs the two plates he abandoned earlier, but Bobby stops him with a hand on his arm. “Just fill up Chris’ plate. We’ll take care of Eddie.” Eddie doesn’t even know if he’s particularly hungry anymore. He’s pretty sure he lost his appetite after watching his kid bite Buck’s entire head off. Buck meets his eyes over Bobby’s head with a silent question. Eddie gives him what he hopes to be an encouraging nod.

Buck silently fills up Christopher’s plate (with next to no veggies, the alcahuete) and throws one last hurt look in Athena’s direction before he steels himself to go inside.

“You got this, Buck,” Hen says softly. He nods and heads inside, sliding the door closed behind him.

As soon as it’s clear Buck won’t hear them, Michael finally speaks. “Well… that was truly something.” He’s clearly talking to Athena, but Eddie thinks it sums up the whole evening perfectly.

“Don’t you start with me. I’m sure these two have plenty to say.” Athena gestures at Bobby and Hen. “Well, go on then.”

“Athena, I get it, okay. You’re just being protective. I think it’s sweet,” Bobby says with a teasing lilt to his tone, but judging by the tender look on his face it’s not far from the truth.

“Oh and you’re one to talk, are you? And how did you react, huh? When he pulled that stunt with the crane, after the sniper?” Athena snaps. Bobby’s expression darkens just a tad, and Eddie looks between them in confusion.

“What stunt with the crane?” he croaks, definitely afraid of the answer. Hen outright cackles and she hurries to cover her mouth with her hands as Bobby and Athena shoot her the same dirty look.

“I’m sorry- I just. Of course Buck neglected to tell you about that little adventure,” and Eddie is definitely panicking but Hen just barrels on, “ And ’Thena, don’t even front, okay. You are one hundred percent being an overprotective mother about Buck right now. You like to act like Bobby’s the only one who babies him, but I know for a fact that Buck and Maddie have you wrapped around their respective fingers. And I know you’ve been especially worried for him after the whole fiasco with his parents. You clearly have your reservations about Taylor Kelly. That’s fine, I think we all do,” her gaze flicks over to Eddie and he tries not to react.

“Buck’s had his share of unhappy endings. We all want him to avoid any more potential heartbreak. I just think you need to work on the execution of your mothering a bit before it blows up in your face.” Hen says shrugging casually, like she didn’t just read Athena for filth.

“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Athena seethes, taking Buck’s empty seat but looking at Hen like she’s ready to pounce. Bobby speaks up, trying to de-escalate.

“I think what Hen is trying to say is that Buck is sensitive. He internalizes things very deeply, especially if he thinks they’re criticisms. Buck might read your distaste for Taylor Kelly and misinterpret it as distaste for him and his choices.”

“I love Buck, and I would never hold who he dates against him, ever. I just want what’s best for him, and I will not apologize for my reservations about Taylor.” Athena turns to Eddie, seemingly looking for backup. Eddie would love to give it to her, but he’s keenly aware of Hen and Bobby’s scrutiny. So, it looks like he’s done a spectacularly shitty job at hiding his disdain for Taylor. That’s fine. Everything is fine.

“Wait a second. Can we go back to the crane?” Eddie begs. It’s mostly to Bobby and Hen off his back, but he also really wants to know what kind of recklessness Buck was busy with while Eddie was out of commission.

Hen ignores him, “Well, you should tell Buck that. I’m sure he’ll melt like butter if you open with how much you love him.”

“I think we need to start talking about whatever demon possessed our sweet little Christopher tonight.” Chim returns, finally emerging from his hiding spot and he joins Michael to stand behind Hen and Bobby.

“Right?” Eddie hisses. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get over the vitriol in his sweet little boy’s tone. He is so underprepared for Christopher’s teenage years it’s not even funny. Eddie tries not to shudder at the thought.

“Like, I knew Chris could get a little nasty with his tantrums, but to direct that nastiness at Buck?! I never thought I’d see the day.” Eddie prays this will be the lesson in playing the bad cop that Buck so desperately needs. He loves that Buck is so affectionate with his kid but they need to present a united front in order to handle the impending shit storm that is adolescence.

Michael snorts loudly. Everyone turns to him simultaneously and Eddie raises his good arm as if to say spit it out, then.

Michael puts both hands up and says, “Look, it’s really not my place, man.” Athena throws him a withering glare.

“For heaven’s sake, Michael! Out with it.” Michael sighs deeply and makes a face like he’s choosing his next words very carefully.

“I believe… it’s not that surprising if we really think about it. Buck and Christopher have an unshakeable bond, sure. But you guys all view them as the best of friends doing best friend things.” Michael pauses as if he’s waiting for them all to understand.

When the only reaction he receives is a collective duh, he sighs again, a bit more frustrated.

“I think you guys underestimate Buck’s place in Christopher’s life just a little bit.” Eddie forces his face to go as blank as possible. He can sense where this is going, and he really thinks he prefers Michael as the silent spectator. He just knows Michael is about to read him for filth.

“Look,” Michael continues, undeterred now that he has the floor. “The bottom line is Chris views Buck as a parental figure. Eddie and Buck are partners just as much for Chris as they are at work. I’m sure lockdown only cemented Buck’s role as Chris’s caretaker. He was one of the few people allowed in Chris’s bubble which meant they were spending even more time together than usual. Chris couldn’t even see Carla or Eddie’s family for a while, so I’m sure he got extra attached to Buck. Ana coming into the picture probably shook things up just a bit,” he waves his hand at Eddie dismissively, “Athena and Bobby told me about his little Uber adventure to Buck’s place. But Chris never saw her as a real threat, because if anything, he’d get to spend more time with Buck when Eddie was spending time with Ana.”

Eddie feels severely uncomfortable at the idea of people looking too closely at whatever kind of little family unit he has going with Buck. Especially when outsiders seem to understand it better than even he can. He kind of wants to be swallowed up by the ground and leave this conversation forever. He’s fine continuing on with whatever they have and leaving it at that. Mostly.

Too bad Michael is far from finished. “After Eddie’s injury, Buck was around even more. The kid stayed in Eddie’s house while Eddie was in the hospital for Christ’s sake. He’s a very big fixture in their lives. Christopher must really rely on Buck to navigate all the heavy emotions that came with all the trauma he’s been through in such a short time. Christopher is ten. This past year has literally been a tenth of his life.”

And now Eddie feels like complete shit. This is about so much more than whatever he feels about Buck. It’s about Christopher, too, and his needs and his reliance on the little family they’ve built. He’d been so preoccupied with his stupid pining, he didn’t stop to think about how Buck’s absence would take a toll on the way Chris has been coping with everything up until now. Just one more way he’s failed at meeting his own child’s needs.

“And now Buck’s around less. Christopher loves Maddie and Chim because Buck loves them, so he’d never blame them for what he’s going through. So that leaves the only new variable.” Taylor fucking Kelly, Eddie thinks, stomach still roiling with guilt.

“Jee?” Chimney asks, looking very alarmed. Michael smacks him gently on the arm.

“Taylor Kelly,” Athena supplies ominously, looking deep in thought.

Hen hums in understanding. “And Chris just blew up on Buck like he would a parent, not a friend or uncle. Denny would never snap at Chimney like that. But Karen and I? Absolutely.”

Chimney nods, his eyes distant. “It’s easy to lash out on the person you know is always going to forgive you,” he murmurs to himself.

Eddie raises a brow at him and Hen actually snorts.

“Maddie told me it’s what Buck said to her after their parents left.” Maddie who basically raised Buck.

Eddie looks around at the rest of his friends trying to gauge their reactions. They all look pretty pensive… everyone except—

“And you view Buck as his parental figure too, Eddie. Whether you know it or not,” Bobby muses. He’s staring at Eddie like he’s seeing him in a new light. Eddie can only squirm uncomfortably, but refuses to break eye contact.

Across from him, Hen immediately clocks their weird energy. “What?” she demands. Eddie swears he can feel the sweat start to bead around his hairline. He might as well just get it over with. Better now than the next time he gets into a dangerous situation he can’t get out of.

“After the well—” he starts, but Bobby cuts him off abruptly.

“You don’t have to explain Eddie,” he says firmly.

Eddie appreciates the gesture but he’s already made up his mind. He inclines his head at Bobby as if to say it’s okay. He trusts these people with his life, what difference does it make if they know who he trusts with his heart? He blows out a breath, steeling himself. He carefully avoids everyone’s gaze.

“After everything that happened with the well last year, it got me thinking of Christopher and who would take care of him if I didn’t make it home one day.”

Athena actually gasps, and Hen covers her mouth with her hand. Chimney looks back and forth between them, not yet having caught on. “What?!” he practically yells.

“I updated my will so that if anything were to ever happen to me, Buck would become Chris’ legal guardian.” Eddie scratches at his chin, waiting for the fallout. He also made Buck his power of attorney but nobody needs to know that right now. Not even Buck.

Chim’s mouth drops open and the gum he seems to be perpetually chewing actually falls out of his mouth. “Holy shit. Holy shit, Eddie. Maddie is gonna flip!”

“You knew?” Athena observes, narrowing her eyes at her husband. Bobby just shrugs.

“Eddie told me a year ago. As his boss, he wanted me to have what he thought was a necessary heads-up. I figured it wasn’t my secret to tell. And for what it’s worth,” Bobby continues, addressing Eddie, “I think Buck is an excellent choice. He loves Christopher with all his heart.” Bobby had told him as much a year ago, but Eddie is grateful for him and the sentiment all the same. And okay, maybe it’s time to rethink telling Bobby about his power of attorney. He would keep that to himself too, right?

Michael hums sagely. “And if you view Buck as his parental figure, Christopher definitely senses that. So he doesn’t just view his absence as a betrayal against himself, but one against his father as well,” Michael’s hands are clasped in front of his mouth and he’s nodding to himself like he’s connected the dots. Eddie kind of wants to strangle the man.

Of course, Buck chooses that moment to join them. Eddie watches the faces across from him morph into something cheery before the sliding door opens. Eddie turns around when he thinks he’s got his own face under control.

“Uhh…” Buck pauses, clearly sensing their odd energy. “Eddie, can I take Chris out and then take him back to mine for a sleepover?” And that is definitely not what Eddie is expecting to hear at all.

“You don’t have to leave honey, just stay a little while longer and take Chris home after. I made peach cobbler!” Athena is pleading with big eyes, clearly trying to make amends. Buck’s expression softens at honey and the promise of his favorite dessert and Eddie knows she’s forgiven.

“Chris and I had a little chat and I just wanted to have some quality time with him since I haven’t seen him in a while.” Buck explains. Chris appears behind Buck, avoiding his father’s gaze like the plague. Buck turns around to grab Chris’s completely untouched plate to hand it off to Eddie sheepishly.

“Mijo, if you want to go with Buck now, you have to eat first,” Eddie insists, trying to win some authority back.

“Actually, Eddie, I was thinking we could stop at the grocery store so we could whip up dinner together at my place. Have a classic ChrisandBuck night,” Buck babbles, gazing down at Christopher. Chris beams back up at him. And Eddie actually feels his resolve melting away at their exchange. “Chim, I already texted Albert. He’s spending the night at Ravi’s.”

He sighs deeply. He really doesn’t want to reward bad behavior. But Chris and Buck have clearly made up and he doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their tentative harmony. Besides, Michael’s words seared into his head. Chris must be having a harder time coping with the aftermath of the shooting after Buck left. Christopher’s other parental figure. Eddie makes his choice and motions for Christopher to come to him. Chris panics, taking the gesture as a negation and looks close to tears instantly.

“Please, daddy! I'll be good, I promise. And I’m really sorry for how I behaved earlier. I was being rude. To everyone.” Christopher wraps an arm around his neck and shoves his face into his chest. Eddie narrows his eyes, wondering how long he and Buck practiced that apology together.

“Okay.” Eddie relents, smoothing a comforting hand down Chris’s back. He really should talk with him about his outburst but he figures this isn’t the time nor the place. He hugs Christopher to his side with one arm and looks over at Buck.

“No special treatment. He still has to go to bed on time and,” he pulls back to look at Christopher and poke him gently in the stomach. Christopher giggles, which is what Eddie was going for, “You gotta eat some veggies, young man. And no more yelling at Buck, okay? He loves you so much,” Eddie says, trying to keep his voice stern but it’s impossible to put any heat behind his tone when he’s thinking about Buck’s love for his son.

Chris nods his head vigorously but Buck just salutes dutifully and tells him, “Sir, yes sir.” And wow, okay, Eddie will explore his reaction to that later when he hasn’t got an armful of kid and a giant audience.

Christopher bounds off to say bye to Denny and Harry. Eddie watches them closely for a moment, and— are they high-fiving?

“Thanks so much for having me, Bobby, Athena. I promise I’ll come by this week for dinner.” Buck reassures them, still looking a little sheepish.

“You’re always welcome here, Buckaroo. And maybe next time, you can bring Taylor with you? I promise to keep the interrogation to a minimum.” It’s an olive branch if Eddie’s ever heard one, but it still sours his mood considerably. Isn’t it a little soon for her to be having dinner with Buck’s parental figures?

Christopher reappears suddenly and a little forcefully, a tiny grunt escaping his mask. The timing is suspicious to say the least. Chris drops his crutches and makes grabby hands at Buck who doesn’t hesitate before picking him up and holding him close. Eddie knows Buck is coddling him, but he also doesn’t have the heart to begrudge him something Chris probably won’t be asking for much longer. It doesn’t hurt that his insides turn to literal goo everytime he watches Buck and Chris cling to each other like koalas, either.

“Keep the crutches Eddie, I’ve got a spare set in the Jeep. And don’t forget to take your pain meds—”

“—With my meal. I know, Buck. Be super careful, and text me the second you guys get in. I’ll be by first thing in the morning.” Michael quickly comes around to Eddie to grab Chris’ plate muttering about whipping him up a fresh burger.

“Sure thing. Okay, Chris, say bye to daddy!” Eddie stands to give Chris a kiss on the cheek and hide his blush. “Be good for Buck, buddy. And I know you've still got a toothbrush at his apartment, so please, I want those pearly whites to be sparkling. Okay? I love you.”

“I love you too, dad,” Chris says, and then turns to cuddle into Buck’s shoulder.

Athena bends in her seat to pick up Chris’s fallen crutches before standing up too. “Let me take these inside. Then I’ll pack you boys up some peach cobbler and walk you out, okay?”

“That’d be nice, Athena. Thank you. Bye guys!” Buck settles Chris into his left side and wraps his right arm around Athena’s shoulder as they walk back into the house together.

“Bye, dad! Bye, everyone!”

“Bye, you two!”

Eddie watches them through the glass for a moment and then sighs with his entire soul before sitting down again. Michael places a fresh plate of food in front of him, piled high with a burger, mac and cheese and sweet potatoes paired with a bottle of root beer. It seems Eddie’s getting his own peace offering.

Hen’s got her chin propped up on her hand when he looks up.

“What?”

“What happened between you and Ana, Edmundo?”

Eddie scrubs his hand down his face. He reaches for a fork and begins to pick at his food as he tries to come up with something other than I think I’m in love with my best friend.

Nothing happened between them and that was precisely the problem. After that initial spark that swept them both up after their chance meeting downtown, things between them had winded down considerably. Ana was nice. Being with her was nice. Christopher having another constant in his life during an uncertain time was nice. Having someone around after Buck left was nice. But he wanted more than just nice.

Eddie thinks about how his brief conversation with Carla had left him tangled up in knots in ways he didn’t understand. He thinks about how seeing Buck covered in blood on the street clarified things for him almost instantaneously, when it was almost too late. He thinks about how the first thing he asked Ana when he woke up in the hospital was if Buck was okay. And then Buck was there. And then Buck was taking him home. And then Buck was staying on his couch and cooking meals and doing laundry and reading to Chris at night. His home felt whole and Eddie felt settled even though his dreams were plagued with gunfire and his body was riddled with pain. And Eddie didn’t miss Ana once. He hardly gave her a second thought whenever Buck was around.

And then Buck left. And then Ana offered to help out. And then Ana was dropping off food, and staying over late and kissing his cheek because suddenly, he would always turn away at the last second. And Eddie could only think about Buck and how much he missed him and how he selfishly wanted him to come back. Eddie would stay up late at night fighting off nightmares that had worsened, torturing himself with the thought that maybe Buck was with Taylor at that very moment.

“I almost died and it put things into perspective, okay? I— my heart wasn’t in it. I just— I don’t think that relationship was about what I really wanted. And it wasn’t fair to her, to string her along, so I broke things off. It was amicable.”

“Christopher must’ve been psyched,” Michael hums, and really, Eddie’s grateful for the food, but he’s had enough of this guy. Christopher was beyond chipper after Eddie had informed him Ana wouldn’t be around anymore.

“So do you think you’re ready? To go after what you want now?” Hen pushes. She’s searching his face for something but Eddie refuses to reveal anything more tonight.

“I’m ready for us to talk about someone else, Henrietta.” He takes a big chomp out of his burger pointedly.

She studies him for another painstakingly long moment before she finally acquiesces. She sighs and drums her fingers nervously against the table.

“Karen and I are finally talking about taking the next steps to foster another kid.” Eddie’s discomfort dissipates immediately. This confession is much more than a mere change of topic for his sake.

Chim gives her a soft squeeze on her shoulder from behind and Bobby claps his hands. “Hen, that’s amazing. I’m really happy for you guys.”

“Admit it. Jee-Yun, my terrific and adorable daughter, gave you two baby fever.” Chimney’s wet eyes betray his snark.

Hen just laughs. “Definitely, yes. But there was also something about meeting Nia’s birth mother. I don’t know guys, it really felt like a sign. Like someone was telling us we were meant to keep doing it.” She ducks her head, a sweet smile playing on her lips and then looks up at Eddie with a mischievous glint in her eye. “I think when the universe screams at you, it’s important to listen.” Eddie barely restrains himself from sticking out his tongue.

“Well we already know you and Karen make amazing moms. Any kid would be lucky to get in on that,” Eddie says easily after wiping his mouth. And maybe she’s still teasing him, and maybe they’ve had a conversation like this before but he’s ready to remind her —and Karen— of it until he’s blue in the face. His heart feels full at the thought of his ever-expanding extended family.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Michael says, tipping his beer in Eddie’s direction.

“Okay y’all! Banana pudding and peach cobbler. Dig in. But save some for Eddie,” Athena announces as she makes her way back outside, proudly displaying her hard work before them.

Bobby snorts rather loudly. It appears more than half of the cobbler is already missing. Eddie has to bring up his hand to stifle his own amusement.

“Must have been some apology, Athena.” Bobby’s just flat out mocking her now. Michael takes a closer peek at dessert and throws his head back in a full-belly laugh.

“Oh man, speaking of parental figures,” he says, shaking his head.

“Shut up, you two. It’s his favorite.”

Hen looks grumpy. “It’s my favorite too and I almost didn’t get any.”

“Well then hurry up and dig in.”

“You shouldn’t coddle him, Athena. Now he’s gonna think he’ll get some peach cobbler everytime you guys fight,” Chimney teases bravely. He serves himself some pudding and digs in enthusiastically.

Athena glares at him for a minute before turning to Bobby, “Well since we’re talking about our extra pair of children, Chimney—,” Bobby and Chimney start choking on their forkfuls of dessert at the same time, “Bobby and I would like to throw Maddie an official baby shower and host it right here. You guys didn’t get one with the pandemic and no one really got the chance to give you all the things they bought you.”

Bobby regains composure first, gently thumping his chest with his fist. “Yeah, Chimney. As soon as Maddie feels up for—” Bobby gestures at everyone with both hands,“—All of this, we want you guys to have a proper baby shower. We’d love for you to invite the Lees, too!”

Chim’s eyes get misty again and he tries to pull himself together before he speaks. “That means so much, you guys. Really, thank you so much. I’m sure Maddie would love that.”

Athena squeezes Bobby’s arm lovingly as she addresses Chimney. “We’re family. There’s no need to thank us.”

Eddie looks around at the table and lets the easy joy that always flows so freely amongst them wash over him. He thinks of their bickering, their teasing and their unwavering support. While a few of their people are missing, they don’t feel far away and the promise of another gathering means it won’t be long until they’re all together again. He thinks of Buck and Chris who aren’t here anymore, but still with each other, and wandering around somewhere with the little piece of Eddie they always seem to take from him every time they are apart.

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