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#and they sat maddie beside him because in the end eddie was right that chimney knew her differently and buck's version of maddie
remorsefulkittens · 1 year
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Buck's Boredom Buster
Rating: General
Status: Complete (1,467 words)
@911bingo Square: Time Travel
Summary: The 118 crew debate the merits of time travel.
Read on Ao3
Most days the 118 was a busy station house, calls coming back to back, leaving barely a moment to eat, think, or use the restroom; but some days, the bell didn’t ring at all, the crew ran out of scut work, boredom set in, and Buck, always Buck, aimed to save the day.
“Have you ever thought about time travel?” Buck asked, closing the magazine he had been reading.
Chimney glanced up from his book with mild interest, Eddie flopped back in his chair with a groan, and Hen set down her pen, raising an eyebrow. “Not possible. Why?” Hen asked, hoping to head off a conversation that would end with Bobby scolding them.
“Uh-uh,” Buck waved his magazine in the air smugly, “National Geographic says it might be possible, but tricky.”
Hen rolled her eyes, dubious. “Does it really say that Buck?”
Buck shrugged. “Maybe. Sort of. But listen! Imagine if you could…where would you go?”
Eddie sat up straight again. “That depends. Are we allowed to interfere? Or do we have to consider the Butterfly Effect? Change one thing, change everything?”
Confusion crossed Buck's face. “What? Not much point if we can’t change things right?”
“Sure,” Chimney piped up, from the sofa across from Buck. “But changing the past changes the future. For better or worse. Like, say, if someone had run over Doug with their car, great as that would have been, I probably never would have met Maddie, because she would have had no reason to come to L.A.”
“Harsh, but true.” Hen acknowledged from her spot at the table.
“I guess…” Buck’s forehead creased as he thought, “but what about just seeing cool things? Like the moon landing, or the dinosaurs?”
Eddie snorted a laugh. “Big time gap there Buck.”
Buck shot him a glare. “Whatever. I’m just saying, seeing the dinosaurs, or watching the moon landing wouldn’t change the future. Getting a ticket on the Titanic and saving that poor Jack guy though? That would. See, I get it.”
Chimney chortled rudely. “Yeah except ‘that Jack guy' isn't real!”
“Yes he is!” Buck argued, cheeks reddening. “I watched the movie, Chim! Based on a true story?”
Eddie held up a hand to stop Chimney from retorting too harshly and hurting Buck's feelings. Moving from his chair, Eddie took a seat beside Buck and patted his leg.
“The story took place on the Titanic, a real boat, but the characters were made up by James Cameron.” Eddie cut Buck off before he could interject, “but you're right, saving him would change the future, if he were real.”
“You don’t know for sure!” Buck objected.
“Uh, ya we do, cause we read,” Chimney held up his book with a smug grin.
Buck stuck his tongue at him, which only made his grin widen.
“Keep in mind that time travelers aren’t meant to be where they are, so just their presence changes things,” Hen put in, without stopping work on whatever she was writing. “Now if science could reverse time, that would be something.”
Leaning into Eddie's side, Buck asked.
“What’s the difference?”
Hen shrugged. “Like rewinding a tape, versus rewriting a book.”
Eddie loved the little wrinkle that appeared between Buck's eyebrows when he was working to figure things out.
“Isn’t it the same thing?”
“No,” Bobby entered the conversation without leaving the kitchen, “rewind a movie and the story is the same when you play it again. Rewrite a book and you have two different stories.”
Buck considered that, and quickly accepted it because Bobby's word was gospel. Turning in his seat, Buck asked their captain.
“Where would you go if you could time travel Bobby?”
To his credit Bobby's expression didn’t change much, but Eddie winced as soon as the words were out of Buck's mouth.
“I’d save my family, Buck,” Bobby answered just loud enough to be heard, “or never have put them in danger in the first place.”
Buck turned around, wringing his hands in his lap, and Eddie gave his shoulder a squeeze.
“True for most us I think, Buck.” Eddie tried to comfort. “Wanting to save people we've lost.”
“Sorry,” Buck said over his shoulder to Bobby.
Bobby smiled, a little sadly. “No, Buck you were just having fun. Let’s keep it that way. I didn’t mean to ruin it. I think I’d like to see the gladiator fights in Rome.”
Buck brightened at that, and Eddie was glad to have dodged a bullet. Buck was sensitive, and they sometimes forgot that. Even Chimney, who loved to tease, looked relieved.
“Isn’t that crazy violent?” Buck asked Bobby.
Bobby shrugged, sliding a pan into the oven. “Sure, but by some accounts they were freeborn, or ex slaves who chose to fight. They were fed like kings, and had access to the best medical care. Sort of like an old school UFC. Had to be entertaining.”
Buck accepted that, and turned his attention to Hen, who was too distracted for Buck's liking. “What about you, Hen?”
Hen set down her pen to give it some thought. “I think I’d join the civil rights movement…you know get into the real nitty gritty of making change…protests and all that. Be a radical.”
“Cool,” Buck said, happy to be involving everyone in his boredom-busting conversation. “You'd be great at that Hen.”
“Thanks, Buck,” she said, “I like to make good change.”
Feeling ignored, Chimney clambered up from his sprawled position. “I'd be a cowboy back when people could just claim land. Settle on some huge ranch, like in Yellowstone, spend my days rounding up cattle and riding the range."
Hen huffed, giving him a scathing glare. “And what about all the native people the Homestead act displaced? That was a nasty business, that still hasn’t been sorted out.”
Chimney pointed an accusatory finger at Bobby. “Hey, I thought we decided this was all in good fun! Hen should lighten up. I only want to ranch, not oppress anyone.”
“You know nothing about ranching!” Hen accused, “this is the first I’ve ever heard of ‘Cowboy Chim'.”
Eddie stood, raising a placating hand. “Hey, now, relax, if Chim wants to be a cowboy we should let him.” Reseating himself, Eddie went on, “in fact I think I might join him. Ranching is good, honest work, and I’m great on a horse. Might even try the rodeo, roping, riding the broncs…I’d be good at that.”
Chimney rubbed at his chin, looking Eddie up and down. “Sure, partner, just so long as you don’t get too caught up in the glory, that you forget to pull your weight on the ranch.”
Buck was genuinely offended, butting in to point out that he and Eddie would be sticking together, even while time traveling.
“I’m not going anywhere without Eddie, so you either include me in the ranch or we're going somewhere else. Like…ancient Egypt, or 1920’s New York. How cool would that be?”
“You want to live through prohibition?” Chimney asked, wryly, “last I checked you enjoy a beer as much as I do, kid.”
Hen shook her head, but Bobby happily pointed out that New York City never really gave in to prohibition laws.
“They fought tooth and nail,” Bobby informed, wiping down the counters with a rag, “the immigrant population especially. There was a good living to be made in liquor and they weren’t about to have it taken away. Lots of illegal trade going on, so it would be a dangerous place.”
Buck sniffed at that, wrapping a possessive arm around Eddie. “Well, either way I’m sticking with Eddie, so you’ll have to deal with it Chim.”
“Down boys,” Hen ordered, on her feet and heading for the kitchen. “Just having fun right? Besides, Chim will never cut it as a rancher. He's scared of horses and cattle. You and Eddie can take over when he runs screaming back to civilization.”
Everyone laughed except Chimney, who grabbed up Hen's papers off the table, threatening to run off with them.
“Don’t you dare!” Hen warned, moving to intercept Chim, chasing him around the table. “I’ve been working on that for hours!”
Chim dodged around her, heading for the stairs “Admit I’m a good rancher and I’ll give it back,” he taunted, thundering down the steps with Hen right on his heels.
“Health and safety!” Bobby called after them, “don’t run on the stairs!”
Two ‘sorries' floated back up their way, and Bobby shook his head fondly, while Buck turned to Eddie with a serious expression.
“I wouldn’t go anywhere unless we were going together,” Buck swore, eyes locked on Eddie's. Eddie gave him a look of pure indulgence. “You know it right?”
“Course not Buck,” he said, brushing the side of his face, “there'd be no fun in that.”
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sugdendingle · 3 years
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I just caught up to the current episode of 911. Jesus that ending 😭 I’m pretty sure I sat there and stared at the tv for a good five minutes afterwards in shock right along with Buck.
Okay get comfy because this is going to get long. I have a lot of thoughts on  why I think it’s more likely than ever that Buddie will become canon. I’ve seen a lot of fandom talking about why they feel the same and honestly it’s not surprising given the way that shooting scene played out. But I have some other thoughts I haven’t seen talked about yet too.
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I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not I think Buddie will happen. I want them to get together in canon and I think the show should definitely make it happen and not just because us fans want it to happen either.
Since Eddie arrived the show has continually written Buck and Eddie in a way to say to the audience there’s more going on there. So I don’t think it’s some far fetched idea that so many of us ship them or want to see them end up together. I’ve shipped many characters who I knew were never going to get together in canon but Buddie has always felt different. It’s not just wishful thinking there’s a lot of substance there provided by the writers.
Still more recently I’d kind of lost hope that Buddie was ever going to happen. Throughout season 4 I’ve been wondering if the show was working on pulling Buck and Eddie in different directions. I figured maybe they were just tired of listening to the fans yell about Buddie. I figured it’s why we had been seeing a lot more of Taylor and Ana and why we rarely see Buck and Eddie and Chris spending time together the way we used to in season 3. It had actually been bumming me out a lot because I miss that dynamic in the show.
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Last night’s episode changed my mind on that though and not just because of the shooting. I was worried at first when I saw that Carla was meeting Ana because I wondered where this was going. Like was the show trying to solidify Ana as a more substantial part of Eddie’s life now? Were they trying to show that she was important enough to start meeting more of the people in Eddie’s life? But I realized after watching that the whole reason Ana was even included in the episode was for Eddie and Carla to have the convo they did.
Eddie and Carla talk about Carla’s dad. Carla says that she was thankful she got to spend time with him (before he died) and she was sorry she left them (Eddie and Chris) Eddie says “you were where you were supposed to be”. When Eddie says that Carla gets this look on her face like she’s considering his words and thinking about the meaning and responds with a line of questioning that gets her to asking Eddie about Ana. Mainly I think because Carla is one of the people who knows Buck and Eddie better than anyone and when Eddie said to her “you were where you were supposed to be” she was likely thinking so how come you’re not where you’re supposed to be with Buck?
Eddie and Carla talk about Chris and how Eddie had been worried about him (after what happened to Shannon) and how happy he is to have Ana around.  Carla presses Eddie about how he feels about Ana and Eddie simply says “it’s easy being with her” (aka he doesn’t have to be emotionally invested). Carla responds and says she’s glad Eddie is moving on but most importantly she tells him “just be sure that you’re following your heart and not Christopher’s”. 
The show easily could have framed this whole scene in a different way if they were planning on making Ana and Eddie into a more significant thing. Eddie could have responded and said he was following his heart being with Ana. The show could have shown Eddie watching Ana and Christopher with a sense of ease and love on his face instead he clearly looked like he was thinking about what Carla said and it was obvious he’d been running from the fact he was only with Ana for Christopher.
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The other thing that made me feel like Buddie is much more of a certainty and the main thing I wanted to write this for since I haven’t seen anyone else really talking about it is what’s going on with the other couples and how that correlates with Buddie.
911 is obviously an ensemble show so some characters and ships will inevitably get more attention than others still there’s usually some that are the consistent main. For example Hen and Karen they’re a great couple but I wouldn’t necessarily call them a main couple of the show. To me the central canon couple of 911 is Athena and Bobby and second to them I think would be Chim and Maddie at least in season 4 where they’ve had a lot of focus given the baby storyline.
I think we’re headed towards both of these couples being on the rocks. Clearly Athena and Bobby are about to go through some stuff. I’m hoping Bobby doesn’t die but no matter what their marriage is in trouble at this moment. As for Maddie and Chim I think it’s likely that they’re headed for a postpartum depression storyline so that will probably spell some trouble for them too.
My point in all of this is if you watch the ending of the recent episode right after the argument between Athena and Bobby we saw the shooting with Buck and Eddie. In the promo for the next episode the majority of what we see is Buck and Eddie juxtaposed with what’s going on with Athena and Bobby and Chim and Maddie.
TV shows particularly drama ones like 911 ebb and flow and there’s usually some kind of balance. If you have one or more of your main couples in the middle of the worst times chances are you’ll see other couples in the best times. So while Athena and Bobby might be unraveling which hopefully is just temporary) in the midst of this shooting Buddie might be coming together or at least closer to getting there. More on that below. 👇
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I don’t necessarily think that Buddie will just magically get together in the last episode of season 4. Part of me doesn’t even want that to happen. I think it makes much more sense for things with Buddie to happen gradually. Besides which nothing in tv ever wraps up that neat and tidy anyway. Shows like 911 thrive on drama so if Buddie is going to happen there has to be conflict involved before they get to that point.
My guess is that this shooting will push one of them to recognize their feelings for the other and he’ll want to tell the other one but something will stop him. I think it could be Buck. Like maybe while Eddie is recovering Buck talks to Taylor and finally realizes/admits his feelings for Eddie, to which she says something snarky like she knew that already. She pushes him to go tell Eddie the truth but when Buck goes to the hospital he ends up seeing Ana there and decides not to tell him. Maybe in season 5 we have to watch Buck figuring out his sexuality and dealing with his feelings for Eddie while seeing Eddie with someone else.
911 could also surprise us and it could be Eddie who realizes his feelings for Buck. We had that scene with Carla and Eddie and it’s clear that Eddie is only with Ana for Christopher. We had Carla telling Eddie to follow his heart. When you look at the symbolism of what happened during the shooting Eddie’s blood ended up all over Buck which is like a trail to this heart (albeit a morbid one) not to mention Eddie reached out for Buck when he was on the ground. So Eddie could wake up and realize the truth about his feelings for Buck and want to tell him but be afraid to loose his best friend. Or maybe Eddie is afraid to change anything now that Christopher seems happy again finally.
There could also just be a scene with them in the hospital or maybe Buck comes to stay with Eddie and Christopher to help take care of Eddie and and  it’s clear the atmosphere has changed between them. Like we don’t get anything super serious yet but there’s something more there and they both feel it but aren’t acting on it yet. Maybe Buck tells Eddie how he felt when he saw him get shot maybe Eddie tells him he reached for him. Maybe they both realize they couldn’t bare to loose the other.
Everything that’s happened thus far with Buck and Eddie feels like it’s leading towards something. It definitely feels like something is going to change with them heading into season 5. I feel like they’re going to leave us on some kind of cliffhanger and then drag out whatever happens next season. Which makes sense as it incentives more people to watch. But I’m more optimistic than ever that Buddie will happen now.
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I do agree with what others have said that there’s no place really for the writers to go now than to put Buck and Eddie together even if it doesn’t happen immediately. The shooting scene was completely framed like Buck watched the man he loved get shot and they were even wearing complimenting colors which is something I’ve seen done often in movies and tv for lovers. They were staring at each other and reaching out. I mean how do you explain that if it doesn’t lead anywhere?
Not to mention the whole thing was done in slow motion and the scene didn’t focus on anyone else besides Eddie and Buck for a few minutes. It even had an almost a freeze frame with the two staring at each other across the street and since there was blood and the ambulance the whole scene was lit up bright red. And apart from everything else red is pretty much universally known as the color for love.
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One other thing I forgot to add was that the convo with Eddie and Carla happened in an episode called Suspicion where people are keeping things from the people they love. The mother keeping things from her bridezilla daughter, Bobby and Athena keeping things from each other, Maddie keeping her depression from Chimney, Hen’s mom keeping how sick she was from Hen.
Why would 911 choose this episode in particular to feature all this important Buddie stuff? That important convo with Carla and Eddie where Carla basically tells Eddie she knows he’s not following his heart. That crazy intense moment with the shooting where Buck and Eddie are just staring at each other like soulmates having to watch the person they love die.
Maybe because both Buck and Eddie have things they’re hiding? Things they’re hiding from themselves and things they’re keeping from the person they love the most. Each other.
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diazevan · 3 years
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these little words (somehow they're changing us)
Christopher can make anybody smile, even when they feel like they can't.
Christopher Diaz Week, Day 7: ANYTHING CHRIS GOES + “I love you.”
Read on AO3 (This is a long one lol)
TW: For ‘Part 4: Harry’ there are mentions of a bully who teased Harry for having a gay dad. 
1: Bobby
Washing up, Bobby could turn his back on the team and couldn’t be asked a million questions about how he was feeling. At home, with Athena and May, they spoke to him with their gentlest voices, then at work, the team did the same, it was too much.
The anniversary of the fire was creeping up, the single worst day of Bobby’s life, that he wished he could lock in a box and throw to the bottom of a lake.
He knew that his family cared.
It was why Athena was up early to make him breakfast every morning, why Hen and Chimney let him win their Mario Kart tournament, why Eddie did the grocery run, and why Buck saved him the last cupcake from the bundle Taylor had dropped off to celebrate Buck and Eddie’s engagement.
Those gestures, Bobby didn’t mind, but it was the talking; the mindless head tilts and the usual, “How are you doing?”
There was no answer for that, unless he lied, nodding his head, and saying he was doing okay, but when he closed his eyes, he saw his kids laying across those white sheets.
Bobby celebrated – internally, of course - when Eddie asked if Christopher and Carla could stopover for lunch. He adored Christopher, and so did everybody else, it was impossible not to. So, while everybody was distracted by Christopher’s wonderous tales, Bobby could escape the constant questions and the worried glances.
Running his hand through the lukewarm water, Bobby turned off the faucet and turned, swinging open the dishwasher.
He skipped over to the table, gathering as many plates as he could with two hands.
Christopher grabbed his empty plastic cup and jumped onto his feet, “I’ll help!”
Bobby couldn’t help but smile, “Thank you.” He turned, starting to place the plates into the dishwasher, “Those cups can’t go in here, do you wanna put it in the sink for me?”
“Okay!” Christopher bounced over, tossing the cup into the water, “I’m very good at washing up.”
Bobby raised his eyebrows, “Yeah?”
Christopher lowered his voice, “Better than Buck.”
Bobby pressed a hand on his stomach, barking a laugh, “I bet you are.”
Buck couldn’t wash up, not without making a mess; Eddie couldn’t cook, even after many one-to-one lessons with Bobby. Together, it worked.
Christopher stood on his tiptoes, looking into the sink, “Do you want my help?”
“Sure,” Bobby held up his hands, “I’ll grab the other cups.”
Before he could, Christopher was hugging him, locking his arms firmly around Bobby’s middle.
Bobby knelt, folding his arms behind Christopher’s shoulders, letting the kid press his chin on his shoulder, “Hey,” Bobby hung his head back, “What was that for?”
“I don’t know,” Christopher lifted his shoulders with a shrug, “But I think you needed a hug.”
A warmth spread across Bobby’s chest as a grin gradually grew across his face, “I guess I did.”
Christopher patted his shoulder, “Love you, Bobby.”
Bobby lifted his hands, ruffling Christopher’s hair, “Love you too, kid.”
Standing to collect the cups together, Bobby searched the room for Eddie, he found him on the couch, grinning up at his fiancée who had laid his legs across Eddie’s lap, trapping him. Eddie locked eyes with Bobby, nodding slowly, with a knowing smile, he knew better than anyone that reassurance from Christopher was exactly what Bobby needed.
2: Maddie
Maddie understood that she couldn’t protect Jee-Yun from everything unless she planned to take helicopter parenting to the next most extreme level.
Jee-Yun was teething and despite knowing that her daughter would never remember the pain or the tears, it didn’t ease Maddie’s worry. She hated knowing that Jee-Yun was in pain, there was nothing she could do to soothe her, aside from cradle her, and buy her toys to chew on to her heart’s content.
“I know, baby,” Maddie pressed a kiss to Jee-Yun’s temple, “It sucks, doesn’t it?” Her daughter hung her head, wailing as loud as she could, Maddie tried to shush her, “Daddy’s sleeping.”
“No, Daddy’s awake,” Chimney emerged from the bedroom, with a yawn, he rubbed his eyes with the backs of his fingers.
“Oh, Chim,” Maddie squeaked her empathy, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not her fault,” Chimney clapped his hands, taking Jee-Yun into his arms, “It’s a part of growing up.”
She sighed, “But you have to work tonight.”
“I’ve had five hours,” He shrugged as he patted Jee-Yun’s back, “That’s enough.”
Maddie pressed her hands on her hips, trying to conceal a yawn, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Chimney, who raised his eyebrows, tilting his head to his shoulder, she jabbed a finger in his direction, “Shut up.”
Chimney laughed, “I didn’t say anything,”
There was a knock at the door.
Maddie narrowed her eyes, considering she hadn’t buzzed anybody in, she reached for the handle, pulling open the door.
She was greeted by three familiar faces; Buck, Eddie, and Christopher.
“Aunt Maddie!” Christopher locked his arms around her legs, greeting her in his usual fashion.
“Hey, honey,” She tapped his back as she darted her eyes up to her brother, “What are you guys doing here?” She asked through a yawn, “I thought you were venue hunting.”
“We are,” Eddie shrugged, “But not until later.”
Christopher headed inside, wearing a grin as he stopped by Buck’s side.
“So, we’re here…” Buck moved inside, pressing a kiss to Maddie’s cheek, “To help.”
Maddie raised her eyebrows, “Help?”
Buck pressed his hands together, resting them under his chin, as he turned on his heel, “Consider this an intervention.”
Maddie stepped closer to Chimney, “An intervention?”
Buck tilted his ear to his shoulder, “You two need sleep.”
“Desperately,” Eddie added as he pushed the front door shut, pressing a hand to his son’s back.
Chimney scoffed a laugh, “We’re fine.”
Buck snorted, “Sure.”
Eddie crossed his arms, “Is that why you look like you’re about to fall over?”
Chimney exclaimed, “Hey!”
“Now, there’s my favorite niece,” Buck held out his arms, scooping Jee-Yun, with a smile, not phased by her sobs, “Oh, no.”
Maddie sighed, “You really don’t have to do this.”
“We want to,” Eddie assured her, “You two deserve some time.”
“I mean,” Chimney met her gaze, “It’s basically free babysitting, right?”
“Yeah…” Maddie nodded, “Um, are you sure?”
Buck smiled, “Get some rest.”
Going into the bedroom, Maddie and Chimney fell onto their bed, not even bothering with the covers, curling into one another.
She couldn’t work out when she fell asleep, but Maddie was suddenly woken up, by somebody prodding her arm.
“What?” She turned, meeting Chimney’s tired gaze, “What is it?”
He raised his head, “Can you hear that?”
She couldn’t hear anything, “No.”
“Exactly,” Chimney mused, “Jee-Yun’s not crying.”
Maddie needed to see this, she sat up, crawling out of the bed, cracking the door open, and leaning her head out.
Jee-Yun was laying in the crib, blabbering happily, her eyes on the ceiling.
Eddie and Buck were dancing around the kitchen, finishing the washing up, while gazing into each other’s eyes, like they always did.
Maddie’s eyes found Christopher, who was kneeling beside the crib, poking his fingers through the slates, letting Jee-Yun grip onto one of them with all her might.
Christopher grinned, fascinated by his cousin, he sang, “Hey.”
Jee-Yun spun her head, watching Christopher, squeezing his finger as she did, she giggled loudly, staring at him like he held all the answers to the universe.
Christopher lowered his voice, whispering, “Love you, Jee.”
Tears filled Maddie’s eyes as she smiled, turning back to Chimney.
Jumping back into her bed, she couldn’t drop her smile.
Her family was the best.
3: Denny
Denny skipped into his bedroom, placing Christopher’s bag on the end of his bed.
They were having a double sleepover; two nights with Christopher, while Eddie and Buck were out wedding planning, which meant they could play games all day and talk through the night.
Christopher was having Denny’s bed while Denny took the inflatable mattress that they’d blown up by the window and covered in a spare quilt.
Denny bent beside the toy box, opening the lid, and searching for his new Star Wars Lego set to take into the living room. He stopped when he noticed something buried at the bottom, under the scrabble box, he dug his hands inside, pulling out a pink horse plushie, “Oh.”
It was Nia’s.
All his happiness was gone, Denny climbed onto his bed, laying on his side, hugging her horse under his arm as he let out a long sigh.
The bedroom door creaked, and Christopher asked, “What’s wrong?”
Denny hummed before saying, “Nothing.”
Christopher climbed up onto the bed, lying next to him, patting Denny’s arm, “I miss Nia too.”
Denny lifted his head, looking at his friend.
“It’s okay to miss people,” Christopher told him, “I miss my mom sometimes, but she’s not coming back, but she was here,” He squeezed the plushie, “Dad says that the important thing.”
Denny couldn’t imagine losing one of his moms; Christopher was one of the strongest people that he knew because he never stopped smiling.
“Nia is with her mom,” Christopher said, “She’s happy but she probably misses you too.”
Denny nodded slowly.
“You might see her again one day,” Christopher smiled, “That would be fun.”
“Yeah, it would,” Denny reached over, pulling Christopher into a hug, squeezing his eyes shut.
Christopher tapped his back, “I’m not going anywhere, Denny.”
“I know.” Denny scrunched his nose, “Love you, Chris.”
“Love you too.”
4: Harry
Harry was unloading the dishwasher, ignoring the glances that his mom and Bobby were sending his way as they muttered between themselves.
He knew he was in trouble, his parents had made that very clear when they collected him from school and grounded him, being suspended from school for a week was a big deal, he understood that.
He couldn’t tell them the whole truth, he knew how extravagant his parents were when they were angry, especially his mom. If he told Bobby, it would reach the station, and then everybody would be mad; he could already picture Hen and Buck storming the school with his mom.
Harry would rather handle it, by himself, and not stress his family out, yet. It wasn’t long until Eddie and Buck’s wedding, he didn’t want to put a dent in that, because it definitely would.
“Harry,” Bobby leaned on the kitchen surface, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” Harry closed the dishwasher, “I pushed Ben over; that’s all.”
“That’s all,” Athena muttered, shaking her head as she buried her hands in his pockets.
“We know you, Harry,” Bobby said, clearly being the ‘good cop,’ “You wouldn’t have just pushed him.”
Ben’s torments filled Harry’s head as he met his stepdad’s gaze.
Your dad’s got a boyfriend?
Harry shrugged, “It’s nothing, Bobby.”
That’s so gross.
Harry adored his family, that included David, and when Ben came for him, Harry saw red, pushing Ben to the ground; Ben had seen the engagement party pictures for Eddie and Buck on Harry’s Instagram, that added fuel to the fire, but Harry would defend his family until the end.
The doorbell rang.
Bobby hung his head, looking to Harry’s mom, “That will be the boys.”
Harry rolled his shoulders; he forgot that Buck, Eddie, and Christopher were visiting for dinner.
“Harry,” Athena said strictly, “Christopher’s gonna wanna play games with you, but no video games, you hear me?”
Harry nodded.
Athena put on a grin, skipped up the stairs, and opening the door, with a joyous, “Hey!”
“Sorry, we’re so early,” Buck said, “Christopher was very excited to see Harry.”
Harry stepped over with Bobby, looking up to the door, as his mom turned to face him, with a knowing glance.
“Well, Harry’s grounded,” She pressed a hand to her hip, “But if Christopher is okay with board games.”
“We love board games,” Eddie sang, “Don’t we, bud?”
Christopher jumped, “Yeah!”
“This way, Chris,” Harry nodded his head to the couch, pulling out the Scrabble and Monopoly boards from under the coffee table, as he sat down, leaning his back on the edge of the couch.
Bobby skipped into the kitchen, to prepare drinks, while the others sat at the dinner table, jumping right into talking about the wedding.
Harry was happy for the distraction while he played games with Christopher.
Christopher balanced his crutches on the floor before jumping down to see near Harry, he lowered his voice, leaning his head, “What happened?”
Harry lifted his hands, “I got grounded.”
Christopher muttered, “Why?”
“I pushed a kid over,” Harry told him as he got out the parts for Scrabble, laying the board across the table, “I don’t wanna talk about it.” The thing was, he did want to talk about it, he wanted everybody to know that he didn’t do it without a reason, but he couldn’t.
Christopher asked, “Was he a bully?”
Harry nodded, keeping his voice quiet, “Yeah.”
“Oh,” Christopher let go of a long breath, “Did he push you?”
“No,” Harry shook his head, “But—”
“He was mean?”
“Very.” Harry sighed, darting his eyes to his mom, who was caught up in her conversation, she wouldn’t be able to hear them, “Can I tell you what happened?”
“Yeah.”
“The kid, Ben, he was being mean,” Harry looked over at Buck and Eddie, before turning his face back to Christopher, “He said it was gross that my dad is gay.”
“That’s wrong!” Christopher cupped a hand over his mouth, shushing himself, “He can’t say that—”
“I know.”
Christopher held out his hands, “I would have pushed him over too.”
Eddie was on his feet, pacing over, “What did you say, Chris?”
Harry cursed their luck, he forgot that his parents could hear everything.
Christopher lied, “Nothing.”
“No…” Eddie shook his head slowly, “We all heard.”
Buck, like Bobby, seemed to take the role of ‘good cop’ so he stood back, crossing his arms, eyes locked onto the boys.
While Harry’s mom stepped over, stopping next to Eddie, the pair crossing their arms.
Christopher explained, “Harry pushed him because Ben was making fun of Michael for being gay.”
Harry sighed, slouching, as the adults were stunned into silence.
Harry’s mom met Eddie’s gaze, while Bobby clamped a hand on Buck’s shoulder.
“And—” Christopher breathed, “If somebody said that about you, I’d be mad.”
“Yeah, buddy, I know,” Eddie sighed gently, “Ben is wrong.”
“Harry,” Athena spoke softly, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t wanna hurt Dad or David.”
“Still, sweetheart…” Athena sighed, bending down to cup his cheek in her hand, “You have to tell us these things, so we can understand.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“And pushing him over, wasn’t the best move,” She scolded, “But I get it, next time, you come to me, or one of your teachers, okay?”
“Yeah,” Harry nodded, “I will.”
“We’ll talk to your school tomorrow,”
Standing up, Bobby stepped over, wrapping an arm behind her back, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
Harry turned, tugging Christopher into a hug, “Thank you,” He whispered into his ear.
Christopher frowned, “Why?”
“For helping.” Harry pulled back, “I didn’t know how to tell them.”
“Ben has to be told off,” Christopher told him, “And he will be.”
“Yeah,” Harry tapped his friend’s shoulder, “He will.”
Christopher reached out, grabbing the bag of letters for Scrabble, he looked up with a smile, “Love you, Harry.”
Harry grinned, happy to have a friend in Christopher, “Love you too, Chris.”
5: Buck
Sometimes Buck would wake up, panicked by memories of the tsunami. In a few short months, it would be the third anniversary of when the wave came crashing down, and he couldn’t understand where the time had gone.
Buck could feel the rush of the water; the pressure gathering him up and pushing him back, away from Christopher.
The ringing in his ears, his heart racing in his chest, and his arms thrashing through the cold avoiding debris as he swept past, Buck remembered it all.
He leaned back in the chair at the kitchen table, slowing his breathing as his eyes found the clock on the wall.
4:48 am.
He was surprised he hadn’t woken Eddie when he got out of bed, his fiancé wasn’t exactly a heavy sleep, and usually, with the slightest hint of unfamiliar movement, Eddie would be up on his feet before Buck could reassure him that he was only getting up to grab a glass of water.
It had been two hours since Buck had left the bedroom, taking his place in the kitchen, to sit with a cup of cocoa and stare at the wall, thoughts running through his head, at a mile a minute.
Eddie hadn’t been distributed when Buck slipped away, likely because they’d had a long shift at work, and when they made it home, Eddie had been out like a light.
Buck rubbed his hand down his face, wanting nothing more than for Eddie to gather him up in his arms, and tell him that everything was going to be okay.
He knew that if he knocked on the door and woke Eddie, then he would be exactly what he would get; Eddie didn’t show it, but he was a softy at heart.
As much as Buck wanted that, he couldn’t.
Buck? Wait, what are you doing here? Are you okay? Wait, where's Christopher?
Memories of that day, that moment when he thought he’d lost Christopher and had to tell Eddie, they weighed heavy, keeping him sitting in the chair.
Me and Christopher, we were...at the beach, and--um...and listen to me, okay?
Oh, he’d never shake the look in Eddie’s eyes.
I swear to you... okay, I tried...
Tears filled his eyes, he brushed them away, bracing his fingers together and planting them on the table, as he slowed his breathing.
Buck had been in love with Eddie for as long as he could remember, but when that day, he thought any potential relationship was buried.
Eddie and Christopher were two of the most important people in Buck’s life, two who pulled him to shore while he was sinking fast. He let them down that day, let Christopher slip through his fingers, but his soon-to-be stepson was adamant that Buck was a hero, but he didn’t feel like one.
Shortly after the whole lawsuit debacle, Eddie caught Buck off-guard, asking him out on a date, and explained that he was done wasting time that they didn’t have.
Buck was sure that he’d never been happier, than in that very moment, and then a year later, Eddie asked him to marry him, that day quickly took the top spot.
Buck fiddled with his engagement ring, leaning his head against his hand as he shuddered, feeling like he needed to wade through water before he could make it back to bed.
Christopher’s tired voice caught his attention, “Buck?”
Buck plastered on a false smile, lifting his head, as he turned in his chair, “Hey, buddy.” He tried to clear his throat, but his voice came out hoarse, “What are you doing up?”
Christopher tilted his head, “Are you okay?”
Buck thought he could lie but as he stared into Christopher’s eyes he knew he could, but his words escaped him, so he simply shook his head, his lower lip trembling.
Christopher sped over, opening up his arms.
Buck crumpled to the floor, on his knees, collecting Christopher in a hug, tucking his forehead against his shoulder.
“It’s okay, Buck,” Christopher whispered in his ear, brushing his hand through Buck’s hair, “Nothing bad is going to happen.”
Buck squeaked, closing his eyes as he let out of a sob, “I’m sorry.”
“You can be sad,” Christopher assured him, “It’s normal.”
“Yeah,” Buck nodded as he clung on tighter, “It is.”
The bedroom door clicked open, and a half-asleep Eddie emerged, stopping by the wall, eyes on them.
Buck leaned, pressing a hand to Christopher’s cheek, “I love you, Superman.”
Christopher smiled, as wide as he could, “I love you too, Papa.”
Eddie raised a hand, laying it under his chin as he struggled to hide the fondest of grins.
Buck chuckled through his tears, as he clung onto Christopher, his feet finally on dry land.
6: Eddie
Eddie kept going to the mirror to make sure that his tie was positioned properly, if he sat still for too long, his leg started bouncing and his heart would race.
He’d been a groom before, but his and Shannon’s wedding was quick, not many people attended the ceremony, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision that the pair made together.
With Buck, Eddie knew that this commitment was one he was making, until the end; he and Buck were entangled, in more ways than one.
God, Eddie loved him, he really did; sometimes he’d focus on the time they’d lost while they were idiots who never discussed their feelings, but he couldn’t concentrate on that.
Buck was more than perfect because they were best friends first, and still were, to this day, which made that step to boyfriends, that much easier; Buck loved Christopher like his own, before he and Eddie were together, which was beautiful.
There's nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you.
When Eddie had muttered those words, he should have realized, there and then, his true feelings but he left it too long, pushed his future further away.
He wouldn’t let that happen again.
That didn’t relieve the pressure that had rested on his chest, he was terrified of getting it wrong, or tripping up when he needed his balance the most.
He’d never considered the dangers of his job until he started counting the odds with Buck’s life, as well as his own.
He couldn’t lose another, his heart wouldn’t be able to take another blow, and Buck wasn’t exactly known for his level-headedness.
Despite that, since they started dating, both of them were far more responsible on calls, Bobby wished they’d been together since the beginning.
Christopher was sitting on the chair, in the corner of the room, dangling his legs in anticipation, “Are you okay, Dad?”
Eddie clapped his hands together, “I’m fine,” He rubbed the nape of his neck, “Just a little nervous.”
Christopher sang loudly, “It’s gonna be so cool.”
Eddie chuckled with a nod, “It is.”
“Pepa helped me with my speech,” Christopher beamed, happy with his Best Man role.
Eddie moved over, pushing Christopher’s hair out of his eyes, “You excited about that?”
“Yeah!” Christopher nodded, “Chimney is doing his first.”
Eddie rolled his eyes, knowing what that was going to entail, “He is, is he?”
“Then me!” Christopher exclaimed, “Auntie Karen typed it up on cards for me.”
Eddie smiled; this day was a serious family affair, “I can’t wait, buddy.”
Christopher chuckled, “Athena said Bobby will cry first today.”
“I bet,” Eddie sat beside him, breathing slow, leaning his arm against Christopher’s side.
“Dad,” Christopher held up his head, “You’re gonna be Eddie Diaz-Buckley, and Papa is gonna be Buck Diaz-Buckley?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Eddie smiled, he and Buck couldn’t wait for all the pranks they would pull at work with the name changes.
“Can I change mine?” Christopher asked, “To Christopher Diaz-Buckley?”
The pressure shifted off Eddie, for a moment, as he folded an arm around Christopher’s back, “If you want.”
“I do!” Christopher threw up his arms, “I love Buck.”
Eddie smiled, “I do too.”
Christopher leaned his head on his arm, “I love you, Dad.”
“Love you too, buddy,” He bowed down, pressing a kiss in Christopher’s hair.
There was a knock at the door, Eddie’s dad poked his head around, “It’s time, boys.”
Christopher held Eddie’s hand, tight, “We got this, Dad.”
As they piled into the corridor, and Eddie was met by a wall of his family, he let go of a slow breath, he was more than ready.
Meeting Buck at the altar, holding his hands tight, smiling with tears in his eyes, and seeing their son a couple of steps away; he’d never been happier.
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Soulmates In This Life & Another
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Evan Buckley x Eddie Diaz
Warnings: typical 911 level graphics, blood and injures, hospitals, mentions of praying, love confessions 
Category: angst with some fluff at the end
Word Count: 3.7k
Author’s Note: part 2 to my buddie fic!! this can be read as a standalone but for some backstory, read Just Friends // typical 911 level of graphics but a shitter description of the scene cause I’m not a firefighter and I’m lazy
----
“It was fine.” The three words would be the beginning of the downfall of their friendship in the upcoming weeks. 
A few weeks have passed since the kiss. 
They were fine, as they normally were.
Buck still regularly stopped in by the Diaz residence to see his two favourite boys and hang out with them. Eddie still had Buck babysit or drop Chris off at Buck’s place when he needed to go out or if Chris just wanted to spend the day with him- but with each day came a bit more distance. The random drop bys slowed, Eddie stopped asking Buck to babysit, and eventually, they stopped seeing each other outside of work altogether. 
Work was a completely different story. They still sat next to each other, they still talked but it wasn't the same. Eddie spent less and less time with Buck- Buck also taking the hint, kept his distance from Eddie, not wanting to upset him further. In the field, they worked together seamlessly- nonverbal exchanges, handing each other what they needed and assisting each other without question but all of that stopped the moment the truck pulled back into the station. 
Once again, station 118 had found themselves on a 24 hour shift and again, Buck is the only one still awake. He stood by the railing, looking down at the trucks parked in the station, counting the steps on the ladders as he waited for the coffee maker to be done. He thought he was by himself until he heard some tumbling in the kitchen, he turned to see Hen- halfway into the fridge looking for something. She stood, a bottle of water in her hand when she smiled at Buck. 
“Why are you moping ?” she took a sip of her water, sitting on the stool by the counter.
“I’m not moping” he says, walking back over when the coffee maker beeps.
“Okay, so why has Eddie been moping around then ?” 
“Are you trying to reverse psychology me ?” he gives her a ‘are you serious’ look.
“Would you know if I was using reverse psychology on you?” she questions the man in front of her. 
“Obviously” he trails off, she chuckles and shakes her head. “You and Eddie have been off the last few weeks, the moping around, the distance between the two of you- it’s awkward. What's going on?” she looks up at the blonde man who’s sipping on his coffee. Buck sighed- he wanted so much to confide in someone, to tell them about the kiss- about how he was in love with Eddie. 
Except, he always confided in Eddie, it was hard to turn to someone else. 
He could always go to Maddie, she would never judge him - or Bobby and Athena, they would give him advice. He knew he could turn to Hen, she’d know what to say and she’d probably tell him to follow his heart and tell Eddie how he felt. 
Buck chuckled to himself at the thought of telling Eddie that he was in love with him. Hen’s brow raised, looking at Buck in confusion. It was a bit strange that he was laughing by himself at.. nothing ? But then again, it was Buck so she didn’t think much into it. 
“Do you want to talk or?” she says, breaking his train of thought. 
“I uh- We, Eddie and I-” he paused, unsure where to go from there. 
“Evan, spit it out” 
“Did you just call me Evan ?” his mouth hung open slightly and she breathed a laugh. “Yeah, that’s not the point right now.” 
“We kissed.” Buck blurts out before he loses the courage to tell her. 
“Finally” Hen huffs, smiling at him. 
“Wait, you’re not surprised ?” 
“Buck, you’ve been drooling over Eddie since your first shift with him. I’m just surprised it didn’t happen sooner.” 
“Huh” was all the man said before walking off. 
“Yeah, good talk” Hen mumbled before turning her attention back to the book she had with her. 
--- 
40 minutes. 
That’s how long it had been since they last heard from Buck.  
He had run back into the building, even after Bobby had given him strict instructions not too but it was Buck- he never gave up. 
Eddie’s heart pounded in his chest as he stood helplessly behind the truck. Bobby radioed over for Buck, the static from the radio seemed echoed although the street was busy and full of people. It took all of Eddie not to run in there and look for Buck himself- actually he almost did, finding his way to a backdoor that was still structurally sound but Hen found him and reminded him that Christopher was waiting for his dad to come home and that Buck was more than capable of getting himself out. 
There he stood, Chimney and Hen beside him as Bobby radioed again. “Buckley, do you copy ?” Bobby waited for an answer but was met with static once again. 
The ground beneath them rumbled, Bobby looked at his team before turning to face the building. Just as the other 3 turned, they saw the entire building collapse. A 42 story hotel had been reduced to a pile of rubble. The team braced themselves as the building came down, hoping that it would come down as it once stood, in one straight pile. 
They all hoped that Buck has pulled a stupid stunt and jumped over to the next building. 
Eddie couldn’t bare the thought of losing Buck. He was the first to run towards the pile of rubble, pulling whatever he could pull and shouting for Buck. There were at least 4 other stations there, everyone started moving through, trying to find safe pathways to start the search for survivors. 
Survivor. 
That’s what Buck was to him- that, amongst other things. 
Eddie had made his way through a pile in the corner, a yellow piece of something caught his eye. He wasn't sure what it was but something in him made him think about Buck. He tugged until he got the piece out and it was a piece of Buck’s- or another firefighter’s turnout jacket. He stood there, hunched over, his hand on his chest, trying to steady his heart as all the possibilities ran through his head. 
Buck was stuck under all of this. Buck would die if they didn’t find him soon. Who was he to say that Buck was even alive? 
He pushed the heart wrenching thoughts from his mind. 
Buck is alive. Buck is alive. Buck is alive. 
Those 3 words were the only thing getting him through this. He needed to find Buck. 
Buck needed to be alive. 
Buck is alive. 
“Buck’s alive” he barely heard his radio over the chaos around him. Chimney’s voice ringing through the radio once more, Eddie let out a sigh as he heard the news this time. 
“Buck’s alive.” 
Eddie dropped everything, he didn’t mean too but Buck needed him- he needed Buck. He found the 118, Bobby stood outside of the ambulance. His hand comes up to hold Eddie back as he ran towards the ambulance. 
“Cap, move. I need to see him” “Eddie, Eddie! Hey, give them some space.” Bobby’s hand was against Eddie’s chest. His hand wrapped around Bobby’s wrist, trying to push him away to get to past him but Bobby was stronger than he looked. 
“Eddie, Buck needs all the attention he can get right now. Give them a minute to work, okay ?” 
Chimney jumps out the back of the ambulance, shutting one of the doors. “We're heading out now,” he shouts, making his way to the driver’s seat.  Eddie looks at Bobby, his head slightly tilted, his eyes silently pleading to let him go with them. Bobby reopened the door that Chim closed and nodded towards the inside. Eddie gives his captain a nod before getting in. Bobby shut the doors and hit the back as Chim pulled off. 
Eddie’s eyes trailed over Buck’s body, assessing his injuries. There was a large gash on his side that was currently covered by gauzes and he was in and out of consciousness due to the concussion he had. That was only externally, he had no idea what was going on inside- there were so many things that could be happening to Buck right now and they had no way of being completely sure until they reached the hospital. 
Hen could see the worry on Eddie’s face. Eddie was one to hold himself together but when it came to those he loved- he wore his heart on his sleeve. 
“He’s going to be okay.” She tells him- she isn't sure if those words are true but Eddie desperately needed something to cling too. 
“He's going to be okay.” Eddie repeats her words - he too, knows that those words might not be true but he tries to convince himself either way. 
The ambulance bounced as it hit a pothole. Chimney shouting a sorry from the front. The gauzes that were once taped to Buck’s side had loosened from the amount of blood that had soaked through and the pothole was the cherry on top. 
“Eddie, you’re gonna have to put pressure on it” Hen tells him, turning to reach a medical glove. By the time she turns back, Eddie’s hand is pressed to Buck’s side, his other hand holding Buck’s that laid by his side. 
Hen watched the man sitting across from her, the way his brows furrowed each time he glanced at the monitor, how his eyes glimmered with hope when Buck almost regained consciousness. Through all of the emotions, not once did Eddie’s hand shift from Buck’s side- not even an inch. 
When they arrived, Eddie and Hen moved along with the stretcher, following it inside as Hen told the nurses what his last vitals were and what injuries she has assessed so far. Eddie’s hand pressed to his friend’s side still, he silently mumbled a prayer- one he hadn’t said in a long time, hoping that his friend would pull through because he couldn't bare to lose some else. 
The nurse assured him that she was able to take him over for him, her hand ready to replace Eddie’s, yet he still walked with the stretcher. The nurse followed behind him, looking back at Hen. 
The stretcher halted in front of the OR doors, Eddie couldn't follow them in there and he knew that. “Come on,” Hen’s hand rested gently on his shoulder. 
Eddie’s heart was beating relentlessly in his chest, the fear of something happening to Buck if he leaves him was setting in but he also knew that if he didn’t step by that Buck could die right there, feet away from the OR. 
He glanced at the nurse, she nodded- her silent way of assure him once more that she’s ready when he’s ready. “Okay” he mumbles, carefully moving his hand as the nurse’s hand replaces his. 
He watched as they rolled him through the doors, he could still feel Hen’s hand on his shoulder. He walked with her back to the waiting room, Bobby and Chimney in there, Maddie too. 
All eyes were on Eddie, his hand stained red from being on Buck’s side. He hadn’t noticed until the red liquid fell from his fingertips and made little red droplets on the white floors. He walked away quietly, feeling the eyes on him until he stepped into the bathroom. 
Peeling off his turnout gear, he stepped out of it, leaving it on the floor for the moment being. The sleeve of his uniform button up was covered in blood, it had dripped down his arm. 
Discarding the shirt with his turnout gear, he stood in front of the sink, the cold water turning red as it went down the drain. He took a look at himself in the mirror. 
Parts of his face covered with dust and soot, a little drop of red on his cheek from when the gauze came loose in the ambulance, he wiped off the blood and returned to the waiting room, his gear and shirt hung on the chair beside him. He had on his regular LAFD t-shirt under all of that. 
Maddie took a seat beside him, her hand reaching for his. He didn’t say anything, he let her hold it. They both cared deeply about Buck in their own way. 
“He’s going to be okay” He tells Maddie- repeating the words Hen had told him during the ride over, he could see that she needed something to hold onto.
“He’s going to be okay” Maddie gave Eddie’s hand a small squeeze. She had been in the same waiting room countless times with the team but each time felt like the first and it didn’t get less scary either. 
--- 
Hours have gone by and only once has the doctor sent a nurse by with an update. 
“He's stable as of now.” 
As of now. 
The 3 words ringing in Eddie’s head. He knew how these things went, nothing was certain but for Buck’s sake, he hoped it was. His leg bounced, his eyes fixed on the poster about teens against drugs on the wall. 
The waiting room was almost empty, most of the team had gotten up to stretch their legs or get coffee. Bobby had stepped out to call Athena, giving her an update on Buck. Chimney and Maddie went to get some air and coffee, Hen had also stepped out for the moment, to call Karen he assumed. 
Bobby stepped back into the waiting room, Eddie still staring at the poster on the wall. He took a seat beside him. “You okay ?” he asks him quietly, not wanting to startle him- though not much scared him. 
“Yeah, fine. Did you get an update yet?” 
“No,” Bobby sighs, “Athena says she’ll be on her way with coffee and breakfast when she drops the kids off” 
Eddie hums. An announcement broke his thought, he only heard the last part- “cart to OR 3″ and his brain filled in the rest. The panic that just settled was starting to build again. Bobby noticed how Eddie’s entire demeanour changed after the announcement, his body shifted in his chair, his chest raising and falling faster than it was moments ago. 
“OR 6″ Bobby says, Eddie’s brows furrow. “What ?” 
“Buck’s in OR 6″ 
Eddie sighs. Bobby looks over at the man sitting beside him- sure they were all worried about him but no one was more worried than Eddie. 
“Eddie, can I ask you something ?” 
“Yeah, of course” 
“What's going on with you and Buck ?” 
The question hit him like a ton of bricks. Things had been less than normal between the two men, the distance after the kiss putting a strain on all the relationships in their lives. Eddie had to explain to Chris why Buck wasn't around as much and things were just awkward. 
The thought of losing Buck before he could make things right made his heart ache in the worst possible way. 
Bobby could see the way his question made Eddie stop and think. He resisted the urge to laugh but he let Eddie take a moment to figure it out. Bobby had seen the bond the two men formed since their first shift together- as long as you had eyes, you’d be able to see it too. 
From the way they looked at each other to the way they spoke about each other with glowing affection, it was hard to miss the feelings between them. 
The only person that seemed to be oblivious to this was Eddie. 
“Nothing’s going on with us” Eddie finally answers him. Bobby sighs, shaking his head. 
“Eddie, you know I don’t lecture you because I never felt the need too but I feel like I should now.” a slight frown on Eddie’s face from Bobby’s words. Bobby shifted in his seat, now facing Eddie. 
“Everyone seems to see it except you. That look you had when you saw the hotel come down- I've seen it before, on those who were waiting for someone they love to walk out but they didn’t. Why do you think you were the first to go running towards it ? Because you love him.” 
“We all love him Cap, we couldn’t just leave him there” Eddie tells him, he was unsure as to why he brought upon the fact that he loves him- they all did. 
“I understand that, but you love him.” the emphasis on the word love still didn’t connect the dots for Eddie- Bobby noticed the confusion on the man’s face. “Look at what's right in front of you, the most obvious answer is usually the right one.” he pats his shoulder before leaving Eddie to his thoughts. 
Bobby stepped out, Athena coming his way. He smiled at his wife as she approached him, his arm now over her shoulder. She leaned into his side when she saw Eddie in the waiting room. “Is he okay ?” she looks up at her husband for an answer, he hums. “Eddie’s about to realize that he's in love-” a loud ‘oh my god’ came from the waiting room, interrupting Bobby’s sentence. “Yup, there it is” 
“There’s what? I’m going to need some context here.” Athena says, still looking at the man in the waiting room. 
“He’s realized he’s in love with Buck” Bobby chuckles, “about time.” 
--- 
The sun was coming up, the curtains slightly opened in his room. Eddie had spent the night in his room, the chair in there was far too small for him as he kept drifting in and out of sleep. 
He had called Carla, letting her know that he wasn’t coming home that night. Maddie offered to stay but she deserved a proper night’s sleep in an actual bed. He promised to call her if anything changed. 
Buck stirred in his sleep, groaning as he turned. Eddie was half asleep and hadn’t noticed until he heard Buck groan. Sitting up straight, he saw Buck rolling back onto his back, “did you roll onto your side? Let me see” Eddie gets up, walking to the bedside. 
“What are you doing here?” his throat dry, a whisper was all he could manage. 
“Didn’t want you to wake up to an empty room. I spent everyone home to get some rest. Maddie said she’d be back as soon as visiting hours start.” Eddie tells him as he lifts the side of the gown to check if Buck had pulled a stitch when he rolled onto his side. Buck stayed still, feeling Eddie’s hand gently touch his side in a few spots, his fingers dragging across the edge of the gauze that was taped over what he was sure was stitches. 
“Chris ?” he asks, looking at his friend. “Home, with Carla”
“Eddie,” Buck’s hand reached for Eddie’s. 
“Buck?” his brows furrows- the typical Diaz look. Buck smiled at his expression.
“Why are you really here?” 
“I told you, I didn’t want you waking up to an empty room.” Eddie says once more, trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince Buck. 
The blonde scoffed, that was bullshit and they both knew it. “If you’re going to lie, be better at it.” 
Eddie smiled, thinking back to their kiss in the locker room. Buck had said those same words to him just moments before. Eddie's hand comes up to Buck’s face, cupping it. Eddie leans down, his eyes locking with Buck’s. The warmth Buck radiated was the only thing that filled Eddie’s head.
Things were different this time, he was completely and utterly ready to devote himself to Buck, no questions asked. 
Buck could tell him to stop and Eddie could pull away at any moment but neither did. 
Buck took in the moment, the way Eddie’s brown eyes glimmered as the sunlight hit them, the way his hand held his face like it was made to be there. His lips finally met his, the world stopped spinning and everything melted away. It was just the two of them, as it always was - but it was different. They were so different but they were made for each other.  
When Buck finally pulled away, he looked up at Eddie. The expression on his face was nothing but love- happy, relaxed, not a worry in the world. Little did Buck know but he was mirroring the exact same expression back to Eddie. 
Buck’s brows furrowed for a moment, the reality starting to flood in. Eddie could see the change in Buck. 
“What’s wrong ?” he asks him, sitting at the edge of his bed, his hand holding Buck’s. 
“Ana, is she,” he trailed off. It hurt his heart to bring it up but he couldn't knowingly get into something with Eddie if he was still with Ana because it was wrong to both himself and to her but also because it would kill him to lose Eddie to her. 
“I- uh, I ended things weeks ago” he fidgeted with his fingers, not looking up at Buck. “It didn’t seem right to lead her on when I knew I wasn’t in love with her.” 
“So are you saying what I think you’re saying ?” Buck asked, a small smile on his face. 
“What am I saying Evan ?” Eddie bit back a smile, looking at the blonde man on the bed. 
“That you’re in love with me Edmundo” 
“Ew don’t call me that” his face twisted into a look of disgust. Buck let out a loud laugh, before telling him “don’t call me Evan then.” 
The men bickered back and forth, laughing and prodding each other for the next few minutes. The room filled with laughter and love, so much so that it hurt their faces from how much they were smiling. 
“You know,”  Eddie’s hand rested on top of Buck’s, “I really do love you” 
Buck smiles, “I love you too.” 
--- 
Taglist: @dralexreid​ @mrs-dr-reid​ @ickletheficklepickle​ @yelenabelous​ 
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evanoracronwell · 3 years
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Life as he knew it
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Chapter 3 - We're gonna be okay.
Buddie♥
"Baby girl, this is your new family. Everyone, meet my daughter."
Also on ao3 (3/?)
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If you had asked Evan Buckley 24 hours ago if he had imagined his life would be like this, he would have laughed in your face and called you crazy.
However, here he was, marveling at how his apartment - his bachelor apartment - had become a place completely ready to receive a child.
Explaining everything to those he considered his family had been far more chaotic than Buck had imagined it would be.. Karen, Carla, and Maddie apparently knew all the curses in the dictionary, and they had no problem saying them all. Hen and Chim were silent for a few seconds - probably imagining that it was all a joke - and then joined Maddie and Karen.
Athena and Bobby acted exactly as Buck would have imagined. Surprised, and then congratulating him on the news, saving any further comments for later.
And then there was Eddie. Eddie said nothing. For a few seconds - infinite seconds, if you asked Buck - he just said nothing. And then he raised his hand in a gesture for everyone to shut up and looked at Buck, with those serene brown eyes, as if inside he was no longer furious and more agitated than a storm.
"What do you need, Buck? How can we help?"
"I need to buy everything I’ll need for my daughter. Make this place safe for a child, find a lawyer to analyze these documents and the others that I’ll be getting. Damn, I need to choose a name, because that woman wasn’t able to do even that..”
And that was how Maddie, Carla, and Karen went out shopping like three women on a mission.
"Here's my credit card, Maddie..." "How much can we spend ?!" "As much as necessary, everything my daughter will need, Maddie. Don't worry about money." "This credit card is from that account that..." "Yes” - he interrupted his sister in a low voice so that no one could hear them -” so don't worry about spending. Whatever she needs; I mean it"
Hen and Chim volunteered immediately to go shopping for everything needed to make the apartment baby-proof. And well, who’s better than two paramedics to guarantee it was done properly? 
Athena took the folder with the documents from Buck's hand, assuring him that she knew a child custody lawyer and would personally take those papers for him to review. Before Buck could even say anything, she had already walked out the door.
With that, only Eddie and Bobby remained.
Bobby, who went straight to the stove and started making something for Buck to eat, because he knew perfectly well that the men wouldn't have eaten yet and...
"You need to take care of yourself, kid, now more than ever."
And Eddie, who just put his hand on Buck's shoulder like he had when he had brought Chris after the tsunami, smiled as comfortably as possible, saying everything Buck needed to hear, without even saying a word.
"I'm here, Buck." "I have your back."
And now he was here, hours later with his apartment completely clean and safe for a baby. A crib installed next to his bed upstairs and a dresser full of baby clothes, everything needed to help with changing diapers, and a comfortable changing mat on top of the furniture. One side of his wardrobe had been completely emptied and now it contained diapers, more clothes (really, how many clothes did a baby need ?) And several other things that apparently a baby needed and that Buck hadn’t even known existed. His kitchen was like that too, cupboards full with baby cups, bottles, pacifiers, formula...
Because Buck was going to have a baby living with him in less than 24 hours. A baby... fuck.
"I still can't believe that I’m an aunt now! She is so beautiful Evan, just like you when you were a baby." Maddie sounded like she was three seconds away from bursting into tears
"Except for her hair; she has a shade of red that she got from her mother, mixed in with all that blondness."
"That woman is no mother."
"I know that, Karen. But what about my daughter? What am I going to tell her when she's old enough to ask?"
"The truth, Buck, you tell the truth. It will hurt like hell, but you need to be honest with her." Hen reached out to hold his hand for a few seconds.
"What matters now is that this little girl has you, Buck." Chimney smiled at his brother-in-law.”And she couldn't have wished for a better father."
"Damn, right. And when will the newest member of our clan join us?" Athena said in a happy and energetic tone, trying to change the mood of the conversation.
"The nurse said tomorrow; I need to prepare some documents that they need for the birth certificate."
"And a name"
"Yes, Maddie, and a name... I need to think of something."
"You’ll l find a perfect one for her, kid. I'm sure."
"Thanks, Bobby. I just... how am I going to do this? How am I going to be the father of a little girl? I have no idea what to do. I don't know how to take care of a child."
"Of course you know, Buck, you took care of Chris more times than I can count. You’re a natural. I don't know any child who doesn't gravitate towards you completely in adoration."
"This is different, Eddie; yes I am fun and great for spending a day with, playing with them and everything... but what about the rest ?!"
"Buck, dear, you’re being too hard on yourself."
"No, Athena, I'm being realistic. It's different."
"Okay, last week Chris had that stomach bug. He spent the whole night throwing up, tearful and angry. You knew I took an extra shift that night and offered to stay with him. Buck, you sat all night on the floor of his room, cleaned every time he vomited, bathed him and made him eat the soup that Pepa left for him, gave him the medicine at the right time, took care of him, and gave him all the attention and love he needed. You know exactly what to do Buck; you always knew.”
"Yes, but..."
"When Danny got that flu? You showed up at our house without us calling you. You took a plush of some cartoon that he liked at the time and a full meal for all of us because you knew we were going to be taking care of him and completely forgetting about ourselves, and then you spent hours with him watching all the cartoons he wanted just so that Karen and I could eat and get some rest. Eddie is right, Buck, if there is one person in this world who is prepared to become a father, it’s you.”
"Thanks, guys. I just... I don't know; I'm terrified."
"And it's okay to be scared, kid."
"But that's why you have us, Buckaroo, we’re here for everything you need."
"I know, Carla, which reminds me, I need to ask you if you know someone to refer me to as a nanny. Bobby got two weeks off from 118, but I'm going to need someone to look after her when I get back."
"Boy, you didn't just ask me that. Do you really think I'm going to refer someone else to you to take care of our little princess? Oh, no sir, I'll take care of that beauty myself."
"What? No, Carla, you already take care of Chris and..."
"We already talked." Eddie smiled.”Carla said that she can take care of them, no problem. And besides, Christopher is going to love helping."
"Oh, he's going to go all big brother with her."
"You bet!"
"Just take a deep breath, kid; you'll be just great, you'll see. And at the end of the day, you still have all of us ! We're all here to help you."
"Bobby is right, Evan. You’re going to be a great dad."
"Yeah...we're gonna be okay."
 Sometime later, when he was alone in his apartment, Buck ran to the bathroom to shower and get ready, looking forward to going back to the hospital and seeing his daughter again. He couldn't wait to bring her home with him the next morning. Having her in his arms again made Buck's heart grow two sizes, and if he cried with excitement when the nurse let him feed his daughter for the first time, well... who could blame him?
Leaving a hospital with his daughter in his arms was definitely not something Buck had imagined doing so soon in his life. But as he drove through the streets of Los Angeles with the adorable little girl, making all the cutest sounds while lying in the baby car seat, Buck was sure that if he could go back he would have done everything exactly the same.
Yes, he would still have gone to that bar days after removing the cast from his leg, determined not to stay home feeling sorry for himself after Ali had left. Yes, he would still have accepted Taylor Kelly's company even if he couldn't drink himself. Yes, he would still have had sex with her in the bathroom - again - in that bar.
Because all of that had taken him to this moment, driving to his apartment with his daughter in the backseat. Just the two of them, because...
"Yes, Maddie, I want to pick her up alone."
"Yes, Karen, you can wait for us here in my apartment to meet her. All of you can."
"I already chose a name, but no Eddie, I'm not going to tell you!"
So when he opened the door he found all his friends there just like the day before, with the addition of Michael, May and all of the other children. There were balloons all over the first floor and a banner hanging from the window welcoming "Baby Buckley". There was a huge cake on the counter, with an image of a stork. Everyone was waiting with a huge smile to meet his daughter.
Because Buck was not alone. He had his family there beside him to help him every step of the way.
"Oh my God, Buckaroo, she is so beautiful. That photo did not do justice to how gorgeous she is." Athena approached as soon as Buck entered the apartment.
"My niece is the most beautiful baby in the world."
Maddie stayed close to Athena so she could see her better, both with huge smiles and tears in their eyes.
"Baby girl, this is your new family. Everyone, meet my daughter." Buck smiled, raising his arm a little so that everyone could see the baby, whose eyes were wide and curious.”This is Isabella!"
Nobody in that apartment could resist falling completely in love with the new member of the 118 family. Everyone approached to see her better and praised how beautiful she was while Buck sat on the couch to be more comfortable and hold her better in his arms.
"Oh Buck, she really looks just like you."
"Look at this birthmark; so tiny!"
"She is so adorable, she makes me want to bite those cheeks."
"Oh my God, mom, are you and Bobby crying ?!"
May exclaimed so loudly that everyone turned to see Athena and Bobby, who really had tears in their eyes.
"Give me a break, May, this is our first granddaughter." Athena waved her hand in the air, returning to focus exclusively on the baby while Bobby was beside her,  nodding in agreement with his wife.
If Buck stopped breathing for a few seconds, no one seemed to notice; Athena had just called his daughter her granddaughter. His daughter. Granddaughter to Athena and Bobby. Of course, he had always seen Bobby as a father figure and consequently Athena as a mother figure, but knowing that the feeling was reciprocal really caught the fireman off guard.
The sound of crutches against the floor was enough to wake Buck out of his thoughts and make him smile as he saw Christopher approach, with Eddie beside him. Bobby and Athena smiled between them and then walked away leaving the three alone and went to the kitchen where everyone was preparing food for lunch.
"Chris has something he wanted to give to our new baby girl. Isn't that right, buddy?"
"Really, buddy? What do you have there?" Buck asked as he laid his daughter down in the baby nest bed beside him on the sofa.
"It's a gift for Isabella!"
With that beautiful smile that Chris always had, the boy handed the gift to Buck, who smiled even more as he took the package in his hands and opened it eagerly with both Eddie and Christopher’s eyes on him. Inside was the cutest little thing Buck had ever seen; it was a baby cow plush with little arms, and then in place of the body it was a shaggy, warm piece of fabric. Buck had no idea what it was, but he already loved it.
"It's a blankie or a security blanket. Chris had several of these when he was a baby, and it always made him sleep better." Eddie explained knowing that his friend didn't know what the gift was.
"This one was my favorite."
"Is this yours, buddy?"Buck asked, looking at Christopher with a puzzled expression, and when the boy nodded, stating that the plush was, in fact, his, Buck felt his eyes sting with tears. He looked at Eddie, who just smiled at his friend without saying anything.
"This is really nice of you, Chris; are you sure you want to give Bella your favorite blankie?"
"He protected me from monsters, Bucky, now he's going to protect Bella too. He was my best friend! Until you showed up."
"Oh buddy, you are my best friend too, did you know that ?! And I'm sure he will protect Bella just as he protected you."
"Do you think she'll like Moowie ?!”
“Moowie? You named him Moowie? Moowie the cow?”
“Yes, that's his name. Moowie. Do you think she'll like him?”
"Yes, I'm sure she will." He took the blankie to the baby, placing it right next to her. She looked at the plush with curiosity, then made a noise, apparently enthusiastic about the new toy.”See?! She loved her gift, buddy. I promise I will always keep it with her when she goes to sleep."
"To keep the monsters away!"
"Yes, buddy, to keep the monsters away."
Later, Christopher was sitting beside him on the sofa holding his daughter in his arms, with the biggest and most beautiful smile that Buck had ever seen on the boy's lips. Eddie was kneeling on the floor facing them, helping Chris to hold the baby while he played with Bella at the same time. All of his friends were around him, talking and laughing, like a big family.
Yes, Buck did not doubt that everything would be fine.
.
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icarusbuck · 3 years
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11. I told you so
FOX! 911
Chimney handed a freshly scrubbed and washed bowl to Maddie, who took it without complaint to dry it off. "So," he drew out, getting to work on another one. "Josh and Buck seemed to hit it off."
Maddie laughed quietly and set the dried bowl aside. She looked at him while waiting for the next one. "Don't even think about trying to set them up."
"Why not? They've both been single for a while, they both had rough endings to their last conquests, and did you hear them commiserating about online dating? Face it, Maddie, Josh is a catch and Buck's net has been cast for a while."
Maddie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay. But you're missing the part where Buck has a huge crush on Eddie. It wouldn't be fair to Josh."
Chimney nearly dropped the glass in his hand. He set it down so he could face her. "Run that by me again?"
Maddie turned to match him, her beautiful brown eyes sparkling mischievously. "You heard me. And I think Eddie feels the same, but I don't know if it's better or worse, because they're both totally blind to it."
"No," he said, frowning in disbelief as he refocused his attention to the sink. "No way."
"If you say so," Maddie laughed. She took the last dish from him and he reached into the water to pull the plug. She sighed. "It really is a shame. They're perfect for each other."
"Who, Buck and Josh?"
"No, silly. Buck and Eddie." Maddie tossed the towel down on the counter and yawned on her way to the living room.
Chimney stared down at the soapy water as it disappeared, thoughts churning. He followed after her with a fresh bottle of wine and their glasses from earlier.
"I work with them every day. I think I'd have noticed something by now."
"And I've known Buck his whole life," Maddie countered, holding open her blanket until he sat down. They curled up together on the couch, and Chimney decided it wasn't worth debating it any further when he had his own Buckley right next to him.
He went to work the next day and couldn't stop thinking about it. Surely he would have seen it by now if there was something there. Maddie may have been Buck's sister, but he worked day in and day out alongside both of them. Only now, he found himself drawn to watching them, trying to assess the situation for himself.
Their day started in the locker room. Buck held out a scent stick for Eddie, asking him what he thought of it. Eddie leaned over, took a whiff, then nodded and told Buck it suited him.
They exited the locker room together and headed up to the second floor, leaving Chimney behind to chew on their interaction. He shook his head. If it weren't for Maddie putting the thought in his head, he never would have thought twice about such an innocent gesture.
Hen arrived shortly after that, granting him a necessary distraction from his sleuthing. Chimney followed her up the stairs, only to witness an entirely different but no less convincing scene.
Buck perched on the arm of the couch Eddie was sprawled on, a plate in his hand while he watched Eddie play a game and provided commentary. The character suffered a sudden, gruesome fate, much to Buck's vocal delight. During the loading screen Eddie reached up to take a carrot stick off Buck's plate.
Chimney stopped in his tracks to watch Eddie stick the thing in his mouth and turn back to the game. Buck didn't seem to mind the theft; in fact, he'd offered the plate as if he'd known Eddie would swipe it. Since when did Buck share food? In all the time they'd worked together, Chimney couldn't think of a single time Buck had offered him, or anyone else at the 118, something from his plate.
He shook himself, quietly cursing Maddie again, and continued into the kitchen to sit beside Hen. She was deep in a conversation with Bobby, leaving Chimney with nothing to take his mind off of the duo.
The day continued with much of the same.
Buck and Eddie always seemed to be together, no matter when or where he looked for them. He almost always found Buck touching Eddie in various different ways, whether it was fixing his collar, straightening his nametag, or a hand on his shoulder after a particularly shitty joke. And in a similar vein, Eddie seemed to go out of his way to make Buck smile, even when it was at his own expense.
It drove Chimney crazy, because now that he'd noticed it, he couldn't unnotice it. Like when Albert had told him that the Scarecrow in Wizard of Oz was always wielding a gun, and they watched it a few days later. Sure enough, that damn Scarecrow had a gun, and he couldn't stop looking for it.
He finally escaped their infuriatingly oblivious flirting at the end of shift. On his way out to the parking lot he pulled out his phone and dialled Maddie.
She picked up after one ring. "Hey, are you headed home?"
"Yeah. Listen… I think you're right," Chimney said, slowing to a stop beside his car. "About Buck and Eddie," he clarified, glancing over his shoulder in time to see the pair exiting the house. They were talking as they walked toward the back of the lot, where the parking spots were more accommodating of their larger vehicles.
"I told you so," Maddie laughed in his ear.
Chimney resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Of course. Now that we've established you're always right, how do we get them to realize it?"
"If only it were that simple, babe. This is Buck we're talking about."
Chimney hummed his affirmation, still watching the subjects of their conversation walk away. They paused at the back of Eddie's truck and turned to face each other. Eddie glanced back toward the bay doors, then took a step closer and kissed Buck. Buck squeezed Eddie's shoulder and had a dopey grin plastered to his face once Eddie pulled away. Chimney's jaw dropped.
Buck said something, still smiling, and then they both got into their respective vehicles.
Chimney turned back to his car. "Mads… You're never gonna believe this."
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For Evan Buckley Week: Day Five! I saw comfort in the prompt and immediately thought of the Buckley parents and Buck’s relationship with them vs. the Firefam so enjoy Buck’s childhood trauma
Prompt: “You’re a good liar” + comfort
               Buck’s morning started out pretty nicely. He’d woken up, gone through his morning routine, and headed off to work with enough time to be able to stop by the new café that had popped up not too far from the station. He and Hen had been talking about stopping in there sometime, but Buck wasn’t exactly known for his immediate alertness after waking up- when he was on a long shift at work being an exception to that rule. He’d decided to just go ahead and grab coffee for everyone, knowing their usual coffee orders and preferences by heart already.
           So he had a spring to his step when he walked into the station with the coffee carrier balanced in one hand and his duffle bag in the other. He changed into his uniform quickly and was whistling as he hopped up the last few stairs into the loft.
           “Someone’s awfully chipper this morning,” Chimney said from where he was glaring daggers at how slowly their coffee maker was spitting out coffee.
           “I don’t know, I’ve just got a good feeling about today,” Buck said with a shrug before setting down the coffee carrier. “They’re all marked. I picked them up for everyone on the way in,” Buck said and snagged his and Eddie’s cups from the carrier before taking a step back.
           “Have I told you that I love you?” Chimney asked and Buck let out a bright laugh as Chimney and Hen came over to grab their own cups.
           “Not recently, no,” Buck said and grinned as he took a sip of his coffee. “Should I be telling my sister that you’ve decided to try your luck with the other Buckley?”
           Chim snorted as he lifted his drink out of the carrier. “In your dreams, Buckaroo,” Chimney teased before taking a sip.
           “Every night,” Buck teased back with a cheeky wink that had Chimney and Hen laughing despite the previous early-morning funk that had been settled over them.
           “This from the new place?” Hen asked as she just held onto the paper cup with a content smile.
           “Yeah,” Buck said and moved to sit at the table so he could stretch out his leg. He settled Eddie’s cup in the open spot next to him and took another drink of his coffee. “Thought since I had some time I could swing by and pick up something.” Buck frowned as he looked around. “Bobby not in yet?”
           “He’s in his office,” Hen said with a nod towards that direction. Buck nodded and he stood, leaving his and Eddie’s coffees on the table, before grabbing Bobby’s and heading into his office.
           Bobby was on the phone- his office phone- when Buck came in, so Buck just settled the coffee onto the desk with a small smile. Bobby gave him a short nod and smile in response before he had to turn back to the conversation on the other end of the line.
           Buck walked out and he grinned to see Eddie was up in the loft now, sitting beside the chair Buck had been in just a minute before, as he chatted with Hen. Buck made his way over and sat back down, nudging Eddie’s cup closer silently. Eddie grinned, glancing at Buck for a moment, before keeping up with the thread of his and Hen’s conversation.
           Bobby had come out of his office and was about to start breakfast when the bell rang with a call. They all hopped up and made their way down to the truck, ready to start their day.
…..
           Buck was washing the soot from his face and trying in vain to get the ash out of his hair when his cellphone started buzzing in his pocket. He dried his hands quickly and tugged it from his pocket, frowning when a number he only vaguely recognized lit up his screen. He thumbed the accept button and lifted it to his ear. “Hello?”
           “Evan.” Buck nearly dropped his phone into the sink at hearing his mother’s voice. He felt like his blood had frozen in his veins. The casualness to his mother’s tone made Buck’s skin crawl. She was acting like they talked every day instead of the huge gaps that could span nearly a year. “I was calling on behalf of your father.” Buck felt like his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth and he couldn’t make himself speak. But it didn’t matter because his mother’s voice bulldozed along. “He’s been sick, son. He wants to see you and Madeliene.”
           “I can’t just pick up and go to Hershey. I have a job,” Buck said and scrubbed a hand over his face.
           “And what if he’s dying?” His mother asked sharply and Buck flinched despite knowing that there was no way that a blow could come across the phone. “You wouldn’t come see your dying father, Evan?”
           “That’s not what I said,” Buck protested weakly. He hunched his shoulders and ducked his head.
           “You should come home and see him,” Buck’s mother said firmly before abruptly hanging up the phone. Buck took a shaky breath as he listened to the dull tone at the other end of the line. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.
           “Whoa, sorry, Buck. Bobby sent me to come get you so he could show you how to cook something other than eggs,” Chim said and held up his hands. He glanced over Buck’s face as Buck hastily shoved his phone into his pocket. “Everything okay?”
           Buck let out a laugh that was just a little flat and put on a huge smile. “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” He bumped his shoulder against Chimney’s like he normally would. “I should go help Bobby, wouldn’t want my cooking skills to get rusty.” He stuck his tongue out playfully at Chimney despite the way his stomach was roiling.
           “It’s pretty hard to fuck up eggs,” Chimney laughed and gave him a brotherly shove. “Go on, then. Just don’t burn anything, alright? I’m pretty hungry.”
           “Got it,” Buck said before heading upstairs to the loft so he could help Bobby out. He forced himself to act normal despite the block of ice that had settled in his stomach, slowly leaking out so that all he felt was cold and vaguely numb.
           He was right in the middle of listening to Eddie telling a story about Christopher’s science class, when his phone rang again. He hesitantly pulled it out of his pocket but was relieved to see Maddie’s name. “Sorry, it’s Maddie,” Buck said to Bobby before stepping away from the kitchen and heading outside to take the call. “Hey,” Buck said once he’d accepted the call and was standing behind the station, his back pressed against the rough brick.
           “Did she call you?” Maddie asked, her voice a little worried.
           “Yeah,” Buck breathed out and closed his eyes. “She did.”
           “I’m so sorry, Buck,” Maddie said and Buck shook his head.
           “It’s not your fault.” Buck sighed. “So what do you want to do?” He reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck. There was a long silence between them.
           “I don’t know,” Maddie whispered. They both sat on the line for a little bit, not really talking. “You’re on a shift, I should let you go. We can… maybe we can talk it over tonight?”
           “It’s movie night tonight,” Buck said, not willing to let his parents disrupt the one thing that brought him more happiness than anything else: the Diaz boys. “But tomorrow.”
           “Alright.” Maddie told him goodbye and he echoed it back a little hollowly before hanging up and letting his head fall back with a thud.
           He took a few more moments to compose himself before he put on his normal friendly smile and bounded back up to the loft to finish helping Bobby.
…..
           Chimney scowled over at Buck as Buck was prying open the door of an SUV in their third car crash of the day. They’d been at back-to-back calls since right after actually getting to eat lunch and they were all starting to feel the strain of it.
           “I thought you said you had a good feeling about today,” Chimney murmured as he stepped in to check the vitals of the driver.
           “It’s not an exact science, Chim,” Buck said as he hefted up the jaws and moved to go over to the other car where Eddie was shoving all his weight onto the crowbar to little effect. He pushed away the tinny version of his mother’s voice on the phone, he didn’t have time to think about any of that. “Need a hand?” Buck asked and Eddie huffed out a laugh before Buck passed the jaws off to him and went to go and help Chim and Hen get the patient from the SUV and onto the waiting gurney.
           “Cap’s already radioed for another ambulance, but we’ve gotta go,” Hen said and patted Buck’s shoulder once they’d loaded up their patient and Buck had closed the doors.
           “Sure thing,” Buck nodded and he jogged over to where Eddie had extracted the other driver. Eddie was going over his injuries and doing what he could with his limited supplies, but something about the picture made Buck freeze up. A man dying. A man that vaguely- if you squinted a little- resembled his father. Eddie’s head jerked up and he pointed at the car.
           “There’s a kid in the back seat,” Eddie said firmly, and Buck jerked into action and walked over to see the little girl still in her booster seat but surrounded by glass and twisted metal. Buck was surprised that she wasn’t more hurt, but she looked absolutely petrified.
           “Hey,” Buck said after he’d managed to wiggle his way through the blown-out window so he could get a good look how to get her out. “My name is Buck, what’s your name?” Buck asked gently as he twisted to see if he could get to the seatbelt.
           “Leah,” she said with tears streaking down her cheeks and making her voice tremble.
           “I’m going to get you out of here, alright?” Buck made sure to keep his voice even and calm as he tried to pull the seatbelt from the latch. He frowned a little when he was sure she couldn’t see his face and then put a smile as he ducked into her line of sight. “I need to run out and grab some shears to cut you out of here, can you be brave for just one more minute?” She looked unsure as she curled her fingers into the arm of his turnout jacket. “You’ve already been so brave, Leah. I promise you I’m coming right back.”
           “Okay,” she said and her voice wavered as she slowly eased her grip on Buck’s coat.
           Buck crawled out through the same window he’d come in and ran to the truck to get the things he needed. “What’s the situation?” Bobby asked, joining Buck on his jog back to the car.
           “Young girl trapped in her booster seat. I got in through the window, but I’m not sure she can come out that way. There’s too many broken edges of glass and metal.” Buck reported.
           Bobby looked over the car and then clapped Buck on the back. “Let’s break out that back windshield and I’ll lay down my jacket so you can hand her off.”
           So once Buck had gotten her cut out of her booster seat, he covered her with his turnout jacket while Bobby broke the window and laid out his own coat. Buck lifted her carefully and together he and Bobby got her out and handed off to the paramedics.
           “Good job,” Bobby said and clapped a hand down on Buck’s shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. Buck felt a small flicker of pride at Bobby’s obvious approval. It quickly soured when Eddie joined them without any hint of a smile on his face. “Let’s pack up and get out of the officers’ way,” Bobby said, sensing the obvious shift in atmosphere. The police had shown up to document the crash and talk to the by-standers.
           They did so in total silence and the ride back to the station was stilted until Eddie spoke, “That little girl’s dad is probably gonna be DOA.” His voice was mostly hollow but Buck could hear the undercurrent of anger in it. It made him squirm a little uncomfortably in his seat.
           “I’m sure you did everything you could, Eddie,” Buck said and he wanted to reach out, but he could see the tense set of Eddie’s shoulders and knew his partner wouldn’t appreciate the touch, and Buck wasn’t sure he was completely up to the task of giving comfort.
           “Sometimes, calls just can’t go our way,” Bobby said firmly, though there was a gentleness to the way it was phrased.
           “She couldn’t have been any older than Christopher,” Eddie said with a scowl.
           Buck bit his lip at that, unsure of what else to say. “We can’t take it personally,” Bobby said. “We’ve got to do what we can, when we can, and let the rest go. You did your best and that’s all that anyone can expect from you.” Eddie’s shoulders slumped a little but he didn’t seem any more relaxed than he had been when his shoulders had been up around his ears.
           “Right. Thanks, Cap.”
           Buck repressed a flinch at the clipped tone of Eddie’s voice. He turned his face out the window and tried desperately not to grimace.
…..
           Buck felt like most of the tension from the shift and his unexpected phone call melted away the second he pulled into the driveway of the Diaz household. He’d picked up beers for him and Eddie and popcorn for Christopher. He was smiling as he opened the door to the house and stepped inside.
           “Buck!” Christopher’s shout caught Buck somewhat off-guard and he flinched and nearly dropped the bag in his hands. Christopher didn’t seem to notice as he threw his arms around Buck’s waist and hugged him tightly.
           “Hey, Chris,” Buck said and ruffled Christopher’s hair gently. He handed the stuff in his hand off to Eddie, who frowned a little as he took Buck in, before nudging at Chris’s shoulders playfully. “You going to let me actually get inside, buddy?” Buck asked with a laugh.
           “Oh, yeah,” Christopher said and he dropped his arms from around Buck’s middle and he shuffled backwards to give Buck room to tug off his shoes and close the door behind him. “I picked a really good movie,” Christopher said with a huge grin that was already making Buck feel infinitely better.
           As the night went on, Buck got sucked into the familiar comfort of a movie night sandwiched between Christopher and Eddie. He helped clean up as Eddie flitted between the mess they’d made in the living room and where Christopher was getting ready for bed. Buck was rinsing out the beer bottles while Eddie read Christopher his bedtime story when he found himself zoning out a little. Not necessarily thinking about anything, just drifting.
           “Hey,” Eddie said, breaking Buck out of it, as he leaned his hip against the sink. “It’s pretty late, you wanna just take the guest room?” Eddie offered. Buck cracked a smile and nodded.
           “Yeah, if you don’t mind. I’m beat.” Buck pushed a damp hand through his hair before rubbing at his temples.
           “Go ahead and get some sleep, I can finish up with these,” Eddie said and bumped their shoulders together.
           “Thanks,” Buck said and he shuffled his way down the familiar path to the guest room. He folded up his jeans and settled them on side table beside the lamp before slipping under the sheets. He thought that after everything that happened today he’d have trouble sleeping, but he must have been more tired than he’d thought because sleep came easily.
…..
           When he woke up it wasn’t in Eddie’s guest room but his childhood bedroom in Hershey. He remembered the blank light blue walls with the navy curtains and cool brown dresser set, none of which he’d had any say in. He shuddered as he sat up and the flat grey sheets pooled around his waist.
           He tossed the sheets aside and went over to the mirror that was hanging on the wall and he sucked in a sharp breath as he took in his reflection. He was younger than he’d been when he’d gone to sleep. He took in the soft curls and lack of any hint of stubble as well as how small he was. He looked like he had when he was sixteen and he felt something inside him tremble in fear.
           There was a polite knock on the door before his mother, the same colored curls as his own framing dark eyes like Maddie’s, poked her head in. “Evan, if you don’t quit lazing around you’re not going to be able to have breakfast before practice.” He glanced at the corner of his dresser where his track uniform and shoes were sitting, just like always.
           “How did I get here?” Buck asked and his voice was shaking.
           “What do you mean?” His mother asked, taking a step into his bedroom, her hand perched on her hip perfectly. “You live here, sweetheart.”
           “No,” Buck shook his head. “I live in L.A. I moved there years ago.” Buck sucked in a harsh breath and blew it out, continuing before he lost the thread. “I’m a firefighter with the 118 under Captain Bobby Nash. I work with Hen Wilson, Chimney Han, and Eddie Diaz.” Buck squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears burning at the corners. “Maddie is with me because she finally left Doug.”
           There was a pause and Buck opened his eyes, praying that he would have woken up, but his mother was still standing there and he was still in his room in Hershey. His mother took a step forward and cradled Buck’s face between her hands. “Oh, honey,” she said softly and stroked his hair back from his face. “You’re such a good liar. But you know we don’t allow that kind of behavior to happen under this roof.” Her perfectly manicured nails dug into Buck’s cheeks.
           With a jolt, Buck woke up in a cold sweat and feeling like he’d been running a marathon, his heart hammering in his chest and not able to catch his breath. He let out a broken sob as he scrambled for the bedside lamp, but before he could get it on, the door was opening and the hall light was filtering into the room.
           Eddie’s guest room.
           Buck could only cry harder from relief, pressing his hands against his face to try and muffle it. He didn’t want to wake Christopher, or scare him if he was already awake from Buck’s nightmare.
           “Buck, hey, what happened?” Eddie asked and Buck could feel him sit down on the edge of the bed.
           “I got out,” Buck said and he knew that he probably sound like he’d lost it, but part of him was crying from fear, but the other part was relief. “I’m in L.A.”
           “You’re in L.A.” Eddie rubbed his back soothingly despite obviously being confused. “It’s okay, Buck. You’re here at my house. You’re safe.” Eddie turned and wrapped an arm around Buck’s shoulders and guided Buck’s head against his shoulder. Eddie shushed him before talking to him gently in Spanish, just like Buck knew he did when Christopher was really upset or scared. “Estás bien. No dejaré que nada te lastime. Estoy aquí.” Buck felt like he should be embarrassed that Eddie, who wasn’t really that much older than him, was treating him like his nine year old son, but the cadence of Eddie’s voice was soothing.
           “What’s going on?” Buck lifted his head from Eddie’s shoulder to see Christopher outlined in the light from the hall.
           “It’s okay,” Eddie said in the same soft tone he’d had since Buck had started crying. “I think Buck just had a bad dream, go back to bed.”
           “I can help,” Christopher said and shuffled over to the side of the bed.
           “Mijo,” Eddie started but Buck just shook his head, sniffing a little.
           “He’s okay,” Buck mumbled and wiped at his face.
           Eddie gave him an unsure look but didn’t argue. When Chris got to the side of the bed, Eddie lifted Christopher into his lap so he and Buck were somewhat level. “I had bad dreams too,” Christopher said and his mouth twisted up a little in the corner. “Daddy said it was okay to talk about them, but that I didn’t have too if it was too scary. Was your bad dream really scary?” Christopher asked as he reached out to play with Buck’s fingers.
           “Yeah,” Buck said quietly, and he gave Christopher’s hand a playful squeeze. “You’re lucky that you have such a smart dad, you know that?”
           “Yeah, he’s pretty great,” Christopher said and his bright smile as he tilted his head back to look at Eddie helped to ease Buck’s nerves. “Do you need a hug? Daddy gives the best hugs when I feel scared.”
           Buck let out a weak laugh and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I bet he does.” Christopher merely hummed and then squirmed out of Eddie’s lap and into Buck’s, wrapping his arms around Buck’s neck and pressing his face against Buck’s shoulder. Buck let out a shuddering breath and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to keep any more tears from slipping down his face. He pressed his face into Christopher’s hair and gave him a light squeeze. “Thanks, Chris,” Buck sniffed as Eddie’s son pulled away.
           “You’re gonna be okay, kid,” Christopher said and used the sleeve of his pajama shirt to brush away the tears on Buck’s face.
           And that was more of a comfort than Buck could articulate.
           “Alright,” Eddie said and lifted Christopher off of Buck’s lap. “You need to get back in bed, buddy.” He gave Christopher’s shoulder a pat and Chris started out of the room. “I’m just gonna make sure he gets back into bed. You’ll be alright for a minute?” Eddie asked, his hand resting on Buck’s knee.
           “Yeah,” Buck nodded and he gave Eddie a watery smile. Eddie watched him with a conflicted expression. “Go on, I’m going to wash my face.” He knew that the salt would leave tacky spots on his skin and he was certain that his nose was going to start dripping soon. He shuffled across the hall to the bathroom and wiped his nose on a wad of toilet paper before running some cold water, pointedly not looking in the mirror as he splashed his face. He dried his skin off, just giving himself a moment to get his breathing back under control, and then made his way back to the guest room.
           After a while, Eddie came in with an extra pillow in his hand. “Christopher said that I needed to sleep in here since I let him sleep in my bedroom after he has a nightmare,” Eddie said with an amused tilt to his mouth. Buck couldn’t help but let out a slightly congested laugh.
           “Well then, we better follow orders,” Buck said and shifted to one side so that Eddie would have some room. Eddie grinned before tossing his pillow down and getting into bed with Buck. They were quiet for a while, the only noise the rustling of the sheets as they tried to settle.
           “You don’t have to,” Eddie started, his voice just barely above a whisper, “but if you wanted to talk about it, I want you to know that I’m here, Buck. I’m always here.”
           “I know,” Buck breathed and closed his eyes against the wash of emotions that threatened to choke him again. “Thank you, Eddie.”
           “Anytime.”
           “I’m not ready to talk about it just yet,” Buck admitted and squirmed a little.
           “Okay,” Eddie said and he didn’t sound disappointed or angry or upset. “Goodnight, Buck.”
           Buck let out a sigh of relief. “Goodnight, Eddie.”
96 notes · View notes
lionheartedghost · 4 years
Text
Summary: Buck is the last one to the bar, so the team vote him the designated driver by default. By the time he shows up it’s chaos, but luckily, he loves them so it doesn’t matter.  
Written for Evan Buckley Week, Day 1: “That’s My Family” + Fluff
I promise this was meant to be fluffy! It just kind of ended up being chaotic. 
Tags: @sofuckingchuffed; @evansdiaz; @gigi-raven; @orchidlover; @maddiehans; @kiki742; @scandalnewbie
-
Buck wasn’t sure how he ended up as the designated driver.
Actually, no. He knew exactly how he’d ended up as the designated driver. They’d managed to line up their days off, they’d found babysitters, they’d even gone as far as reserving a table in the bar, and really, who did that? But that had been the plan since they’d arranged it, Chim and Maddie and Hen and Karen and Eddie and him. The same bar as always. 8:30pm.
Except Buck had got caught up running errands after his shift all afternoon, of all things, and God didn’t that make him feel old? He’d been stuck in a line for what felt like forever at the bank, sat in traffic for another ten years, at least, and to top it all off he’d had to search three different grocery stores just to tick everything off his hastily-scrawled list. 
The call had come as he’d been unpacking the last of the bags in his kitchen.
“Hey, Buckaroo!” Hen’s voice was already a little more slurred around the edges than he was used to. The time on his phone screen read 9:48pm. “Where are you? We took a vote and now we’re all drinking and you’ve got to stay sober. You snooze you lose. Get here soon!”
There was a minute or two of tinny laughter and clinking glasses, followed by an “oh, shit!” as Hen realised she hadn’t ended the call. 
Buck had unpacked the last of his groceries, picked up his wallet from the counter, and warily made his way back out to his truck. 
He made it to the bar at 10:12pm exactly. He remembered the time, because he’d taken a moment for himself to enjoy the relative calm, the time blinking at him almost hypnotically on his dash. His phone had buzzed from where he’d dropped it on the passenger seat, Hen’s name popping up on the lock screen with nothing but a string of seemingly random emojis beneath it in lieu of asking where he was. 
Buck took a breath to prepare himself. Then, with all the gravitas of Neil Armstrong preparing to step out onto the surface of the moon, and with all the trepidation of someone preparing to tightrope walk their way across Niagara Falls, Buck climbed out of the truck and made his way into the bar.
It was chaos. 
He spotted Maddie and Chimney almost immediately. It wasn’t difficult: they almost always ended up at the karaoke booth, and by the looks of the other patrons, their borderline theatrical rendition of ‘Need You Now’ wasn’t their first performance of the night. 
Hen and Karen were lounged against each other in the booth they’d booked, alternating between trying to sit up and regain some composure, and catching each other’s eye and dissolving into snorts and cackles. Beside them, Eddie sat with his chin resting on the table, studying the room through the brown-tinted glass of the empty beer bottles stacked in front of him. 
The bartender spotted him looking at them and quirked an eyebrow. “You know them?”
“Yeah,” Buck said with a tired smile. “They’re… That’s my family.”
“Huh,” the bartender considered them. “Lively family you’ve got there, man.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Buck!” Hen sat up straight, throwing out an arm in his direction. “Get over here!”
Eddie lifted his head off the table so suddenly that the beer bottles rattled, one teetering precariously on the edge. Buck caught it before it could fall. 
“Hey,” Eddie grinned, somehow stretching the word out to cover three syllables more than it had. “Nice save.”
“I’ve always got your back.” Buck took the empty seat next to him, his eyes wandering to the glasses in front of them. “So, uh… looks like you guys were having a good time without me.”
“Chimney’s idea,” Hen gave an exaggerated shrug. “He said if we got all-out drunk before you got here you’d have to be the sensible one.” 
“Sure,” Buck nodded, “but there are six of us. I don’t have that much space in my truck.”
Karen blinked slowly. “Oh.”
“So we leave Maddie and Chimney behind,” Hen said after a moment. “They won’t notice. They’ve been doing karaoke for the last half hour anyway.”
As if on cue, the opening notes of ‘Summer Nights’ began to play. Chimney picked up a glass, took a swig to drain it, and set it down again with a definitive thunk in time to sing the opening line.
Buck opened his mouth to reply; he closed it again with a shake of his head. “I… okay.”
“I was gonna get you a beer,” Eddie said, scrunching up his face apologetically, “but Chim said if you were driving us all then you shouldn’t have any just to be safe. And then he drank my beer. So.”
“See, I wouldn’t do that to you,” Buck shrugged. “But that’s what happens when you listen to Chim.”
“I’m sorry.” Eddie sighed tiredly, sitting back to lean his forehead against Buck’s shoulder. “I’m gonna regret this in the morning. I can feel it.”
“I think you’re all gonna regret this in the morning.”
“Mm.” Eddie closed his eyes. “But you still love us, though, right?”
Buck sank backwards into the seat. “Yeah, Eddie, I still love you.”
“Even if we puke in your truck?”
Buck wrinkled his nose. “I’d rather nobody puked in my truck. But yeah. Even then.”
Eddie hummed. “Good.”
“He has to love us.” Karen reached across the table to pat his cheek. “We’re his family. He’s stuck with us.” 
“But,” Hen said slowly, peering conspiratorially across the bar, “if we leave now, we won’t be stuck with drunk Chimney.”
Karen’s eyes widened. 
“Yeah,” Eddie sat up. “I‘m ready to go.” He got to his feet, patting Buck on the shoulder. “Lead the way, man.”
Buck glanced back at Chim and Maddie, who still didn’t seem to have noticed his arrival, never mind his imminent departure. He stopped at the bar and leaned across the counter to be heard over the increasingly loud chorus of ‘tell me more’s. 
“If they come over this way,” he nodded in their direction, “can you tell them I’ll be right back?”
“Not sure they’re getting off that stage any time soon, man, but sure.” The bartender smirked, watching Eddie take three attempts before managing to open the door. “Families, huh? Who’d have ‘em?”
Buck watched Chimney fumble to catch a glass he’d knocked over. He saw Maddie look across the stage at Chim with so much fondness that Buck could almost feel it. He heard Hen and Karen laugh, long and loud and carefree, as they made their way out into the parking lot. 
“Me,” Buck smiled. “Have a good night.”
Eddie held the door open for him as he passed through, nudging Buck with his elbow. “Sorry we went a little off the rails.”
“Nah,” Buck grinned. “It’ll be worth it when you’re all still hungover at the start of shift in two days.”
Eddie groaned. “But next time-”
“Next time,” Buck interrupted, “Chimney’s driving everyone home.”
69 notes · View notes
myemergence · 4 years
Text
Names
5+1 - The 5 times Buck is called by a last name other than Buckley, and the one time Buck’s last name actually changes
A/N: prompt from Ale on the discord & thank you to taxing-ninja for the beta on this one - you work wonders!
**
Buck slipped his hand into the pocket of his black trousers, the fabric of the white button down shirt taut against his chest. A smile parted his lips, eyes resting on Maddie and Chim who were sitting a few steps away. The simple white chairs were still in neat rows, calla lilies adorning the chairs at the edge of the aisle,  tulle draped down their backs.
He glanced up, feeling a light hand resting on his shoulder. “Well, they did it, didn’t they? Never thought I’d see the day.” Hen chuckled lightly.
“Yeah.” Buck nodded his head absently. 
The ceremony had been beautiful. They had opted for a smaller gathering of close friends and family versus an extravagant wedding, and it had suited them. They had exchanged their vows on the edge of the beach, overlooking the water. Maddie had looked like something out of a magazine, wearing a cream colored dress that was long and flowing. The entire thing had been the complete opposite of her ceremony with Doug, which had been a spectacle to say the least. Doug had wanted a huge wedding with all of the bells and whistles, and that was exactly what their parents had paid for.
Her marriage and relationship with Doug had sucked her into a terrible and dark place, one that she had to claw her way out of. Buck’s relationship with his sister had suffered immensely because of Doug. But Buck had never been more proud of his sister than he was on the day that she’d arrived on his doorstep, effectively breaking the silence about what she’d been enduring alone. 
She deserved happiness, she deserved this, with Chimney. Buck watched as Chim placed a quick kiss against her lips, arm sliding casually around her waist and pulling her close.
“Congratulations, you two.” Hen congratulated them as the couple stepped closer to where she’d been standing with Buck.
“Maddie Han, finally making an honest man out of me.” Chim chuckled. Buck’s face soured slightly at Chimney’s words, watching as Maddie’s hand effortlessly slipped into Chimney’s.
“I’ll be right back.” Buck murmured, flashing a quick smile before stepping away.
Eddie glanced at Buck as he stepped over to him, placing a slow kiss on his lips.  Buck pulled away after a short moment, causing Eddie’s eyebrow to arch lightly. “Everything alright, querido?” He asked lowly, gently grabbing Buck’s hand.
A barely audible sigh escaped his lips then, nodding his head curtly. “Yeah, fine. Everything’s great,” he spoke, his voice even. 
Eddie felt a laugh dance past his lips as he studied his boyfriend for a long moment. “No offense, but I don’t think that you know what ‘great’ means.” Buck frowned, arms crossed against his chest at Eddie’s teasing words. Eddie let out a slow breath at Buck’s usual stubbornness, placing his hand on top of his arm, gently gripping the white material there. “Evan Buckley, talk to me.”
“Don’t call me that.” Eddie’s words had caused the frown on Buck’s face to deepen. 
Eddie’s face reflected the confusion that he was feeling.  His eyes rested on Buck, as though studying his features would explain the change in his behaviour. “What?” 
“Don’t call me Evan Buckley.”
Eddie continued to look at Buck, searching for some sort of understanding and coming up empty. He scratched at the back of his head, eyes seeking out Buck’s, “But that’s your name.” He responded carefully. Eddie tried to keep the laugh out of his voice. He didn’t understand what the problem was, but it seemed like Buck had suddenly developed some sort of complex.
“Well, it’s not fair.” He mumbled, a clear pout making its appearance on his full lips.
“You can’t do that in public, Ev.” Eddie spoke lowly, hazel eyes fully focused on Buck’s full lips. Eddie brushed his thumb over Buck’s bottom lip, his eyes continuing to consume Buck. 
“Alright, you two.” Maddie interjected as she stepped over to her brother and his boyfriend. “Let’s keep this PG, okay? You can’t be over here outdoing the newlyweds.” She laughed.
Buck rolled his eyes at his sister. “Whatever you say, Mads.”  It wasn’t fair that only Maddie got to change her last name. Chim was his family now, too, and that meant that he was a Han.
“Do you want to tell me what has you all bent out of shape?” She asked slowly. Eddie stood beside Buck wordlessly, his curiosity also piqued, glancing to Buck for an explanation.
After letting out a huff of a breath, Buck spoke. “How come only you get to change your last name, Maddie? It’s so unfair.”
Maddie was unable to withhold her laughter as she listened to her brother, Chim rejoining her. “Because I’m the one that just got married?”
“Oh, so I get to be the only Buckley left, that seems like an unusual punishment. Did I kick your dog or something?”
Maddie rolled her eyes, Chim at her shoulder. “Would it make you feel better if I called you Evan Han?” Chimney asked, a small smirk playing on his lips.
“You have no idea,” Buck said
“Welcome to the Han family, Buck.” 
**
Quiet twenty-four hour shifts were the worst. They were what most of the team loathed the most. Having quiet parts of any given shift was generally appreciated, especially in between busy calls.  But having to effectively spend the majority of your day handling chores and housekeeping was not at the top of anyone’s list. Especially if you were Evan Buckley, and you were ready to climb the walls. He needed to be out of the firehouse, physically doing something. Not checking inventory in the supply closet for the third time, or buffing out a shine on the big rig.
And Buck feeling like he was going to climb the walls meant that he’d spent the entirety of the shift driving everyone crazy.
“So, did you ever wonder why they call it a driveway when you park on it?” Buck asked, drumming his fingers against the edge of the table. “And why do they call it a parkway when you drive on it?”
Chimney let out an audible sigh from where he stood, tired of all of Buck’s open-ended questions and random facts. Dinner had consisted of them learning that butterflies taste with their hind legs, that India has a Bill of Rights for cows, and that almonds are a member of the peach family. 
Chim leveled Eddie with a gaze as Buck joined Bobby in the kitchen to help clean up after their meal. “You’re going to need to lock yourself in the bunks with him, before I kill him.” There was a brief pause as Chimney set his hands flat on the table, leaning towards Eddie. “And I don’t think my wife will ever forgive me for killing her baby brother, so please help.”  
Eddie held up his hands in surrender, letting out an amused laugh. “Listen, man. I would help, really I would. But, Cap said the bunks are off limits, if Buck’s in there, I’m out here. So… you need a new plan.”
Chim groaned as his eyes scanned the upper loft of the fire house, searching for something, anything that would hold the younger firefighter’s attention for more than five seconds. His eyes landed on Hen, who had settled herself over by the video game console, clearly enjoying the escape. A mischievous smile crossed his lips then, his eyes moving to where Buck stood at the sink. 
“Hey, Buck?” Chim rose from his spot at the table, clearing his spot before he reached the sink. “Hen said she has crushed the high score over there, and doesn’t think she has any competition. You should go and show her how it’s done, I’ve got clean up.”
Buck’s mouth was slightly ajar. “Hen!” He called across the loft, tossing the hand towel to Chim. “Thanks, brother.”
“No. thank you.” Chim smirked as Bobby loaded the dish drying rack, before grabbing a plate to dry.
“You are terrible, you do know that, right?” Bobby let out a small laugh, shaking his head at their antics.
Chimney shrugged his shoulder lightly. “We all have to be good at something.”
Buck closed in the space in quick strides. “So what’s this I hear about there being no competition in this firehouse?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, plopping himself down next to Hen gracelessly. 
“What nonsense are you talking about now?” Hen shook her head, pushing down on the keys to the remote controller in quick succession.
“You can’t fool me, Hen.” He spoke, his attention split between looking at Hen and looking at the game. “What are you doing? You’re gonna get--”
“Buck!” Hen shouted, watching her character die on the screen. She heaved a heavy sigh before shooting a glare in his direction. “Look what you did!” She motioned to the screen, annoyance evident on her face.
Buck frowned at Hen’s reaction. “I did no such thing. It’s not my fault that you can’t concentrate.” 
“Please tell me that you’re not being serious right now.” Hen told him flatly. “Of course it’s your fault. You are so distracting.” She paused, deciding to take a different approach. “Okay, how about a friendly little wager?”
Buck turned his attention from the video game, shifting his body slightly as he looked to Hen. “Oh, so I should decide what you’re going to give to me when I win?” He asked, as a cocky grin crossed his lips.
Hen clenched her jaw before she released a slow breath. “If I win, you have to be quiet for thirty minutes.”
Buck let out a laugh at her terms. “That is really the best that you’ve got?” Hen simply raised her eyebrows in reply. “Okay, okay…” Buck drummed his fingers against his chair in thought. “Okay.”
“I think we’ve established ‘okay’. What’s it going to be, Buck?”
“If I win, you have to do inventory for me next time, because I hate it.”
“Alright, so those are the terms. Let’s do this.”
The two firefighters sat side by side, Hen taking her turn first. Her face stilled in concentration as she focused on the screen in front of her, feverently pushing buttons, eyes not wavering from the screen. Once Bobby and Chim finished with the dishes, the three remaining members of their team joined Hen and Buck.
“So, what’s going on over here?” Bobby asked.
“Hen’s trying to get me to be quiet for thirty minutes, as though that’s something any of you would want.” Buck scoffed, eyes moving back to the screen. Bobby and Chim exchanged a silent look. 
“Alright, well-- when you and Hen are finished with this friendly little wager you’ve got going, I have a few things I need you to take care of, until the next call.” Bobby told Buck. He briefly considered the work that he had to do in his office, but decided it could wait another few minutes. Bobby crossed his arms over his chest, as heavily invested in the wager as the rest of the team. They were all envisioning what a quiet firehouse would sound like. 
“Watch out! Hen, Hen!” Chim warned, before letting out a loud groan as the ‘game over’ icon appeared on the screen. “Oh, Wonderboy over here is up.”
Buck grinned over at Hen. “Alright, my turn.” Hen let out an audible groan, smacking the controller against Buck’s chest. “Ouch.” He mock grimaced, rubbing his chest for a moment. He took the remote control before restarting the game. “Prepare to lose, Hen.” Buck spoke, before his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. 
Eddie stood there in the welcomed silence, trying to decide who it was exactly that he was rooting for. He dipped his head down, lips dangerously close to Buck’s ear. “You know, if you don’t win, there are ways that I can keep you quiet for thirty minutes.”
Buck drew in a sharp breath, trying to ignore Eddie as he stood up straight, giving Buck his space. The team stood there in silence, though it was unclear if they were just enjoying the fact that Buck was finally not talking, or if they were all so invested in who was going to win the friendly wager.
“Oh come on!” Buck frowned, continuing to press the keys roughly, even after his character had died.
“Alright, alright…” Bobby spoke evenly, like a parent trying to settle his arguing children. “So, who won this thing?” 
“Oh look Hen, high score!” Buck grinned widely at her.
“Give me this.” Hen muttered as she took the remote control from Buck, Chim groaning as he and Bobby walked away. Bobby dismissed himself, making his way down into his office to do so much needed work while things remained quiet. 
“Hey!” The blond-haired firefighter frowned as she pulled the remote control from his hands. 
“You are such a pain in the ass, you know that? You’re like a totally obnoxious little brother who doesn’t know when to quit.” Buck rolled his eyes at Hen before they traveled to the screen, looking at what Hen had typed in.
BUCK WILSON.
“Aw, Hen.” He placed a loud kiss against her cheek, making a spectacle as he grinned from ear to ear. “You do love me.”
**
Buck and Eddie arrived at the Grant-Nash residence right on time. Buck rapped on the door briefly before he stuffed his hands in his pockets, waiting for them to answer. Eddie stood at his side, their shoulders gently bumping together as they waited. “Do you want to explain to me how this whole thing came about?”
Buck’s shoulder shrugged lightly as they waited, hearing soft footsteps approaching the door. “Bobby and I were talking, and I told him I’d never done this kind of thing before.”
Eddie paused, looking to him in confusion. “This kind of thing?” There was a question in Eddie’s voice, his hand slipping to the low part of Buck’s back as Bobby greeted them, allowing them into the house. 
“I’ve never done a family game night before.”
Eddie had a stricken look on his face, “Wait, you’ve seriously never had a family game night before?” Buck shrugged at the question as they made their way into the house. “We brought snacks.” Eddie spoke, handing a bag over to Bobby as they made their way into the kitchen area. 
“Thanks, guys.” Bobby offered them a smile. He busied himself with taking the veggie tray out of the bag, setting it beside the smorgasbord of snacks that they already had laid out on the counter. “Get yourselves something to drink, grab a snack, and then let’s head in. This usually takes a bit.” He laughed then, glancing at their two newest guests to arrive. 
“Oh, look what the cat dragged in.” Chim spoke as they made their way into the living room where the rest of their friends had gathered.
“We got caught up doing… something.” Buck offered a small shrug of his shoulder after his voice trailed off.
“Eww, gross,” Maddie’s face scrunched up immediately at her brother’s words. “Let’s not talk about that again, okay?” She requested with a roll of her eyes, as Buck sat on the floor with his legs criss-crossed, Eddie seated on the couch behind him. 
Bobby and Athena joined everyone in their living room, the entire one-eighteen team and their significant others gathered around. After the topic of family game night had come up with Buck, Bobby thought it would be a good idea to have everyone over for a family game night. In the last week they’d had some pretty intense calls, and it was the perfect opportunity for everyone to let that fall away.
“I hope everyone is ready for some friendly competition,” Athena smiled as she brought the glass of wine to her lips, savoring a sip. “Welcome to your first Grant-Nash family game night.”
“Hopefully, the first of many.” Bobby added, sliding his arm around Athena’s waist and drawing her closer. 
“So we are playing a game called Celebrity, some people call it Salad Bowl. We’ll have Team Nash and Team Grant,” Athena paused. “On each team there will be one person that is giving clues to the rest of their team. The goal is to name as many of the celebrities as you can, in the given time. There are three rounds, and the team with the most points will win.”
“That sounds easy enough.” Buck spoke from where he sat. He heard a laugh from behind him and spun around to look at Eddie. “What?”
“It will be easy, for everyone who knows pop culture,” Eddie explained. Chim looked from Eddie to Maddie, and then back to Buck. One thing that the siblings were not known for, was their knowledge of pop culture, or essentially any movie reference.
“Alright, Bobby and I will pick our teams.” Bobby and Athena took turns selecting their teams, until both teams had been filled, less for the Buckley siblings. 
“Come on guys, this is like being picked last for a team during gym class,” Buck whined, crossing his arms over his chest like a child. “I’m going to be the last one picked, too. Because Athena still resents me from the call with the baby in the pipe.”
“Boy, do not start bringing up the past.” Athena sassed Buck, looking at him in mock seriousness before breaking into a fond smile. “You had better get your butt over here, since you are Buck Grant tonight.”
A smile lit up Buck’s face upon hearing her words, “Are you serious?” 
“Evan, you are such a child. Pouting so that you don’t get picked last.” Maddie shook her head as he joined the rest of her team, which consisted of Bobby, Eddie, and Karen. 
Athena exchanged a glance with Bobby, before she patted the seat beside her on the couch. “Get over here, before I change my mind.” She took the time to explain the specific rules of each round.
“So to start with, I’m going to give everyone a few slips of paper. You are going to write down some celebrity names, and movies. Then we’ll fold them up, put them into the bowl and we can get started with the first round.” 
Everyone took a few minutes, scribbling on the small slips of paper that Athena had passed out before she collected the folded pieces in a large clear bowl. “Hen, why don’t you give the clues first?” 
Athena joined Buck and Chimney on the couch. She started the timer as they began with the first round, and Hen grabbed a slip of paper from the bowl before she began giving clues. 
“A classic movie… Burt Reynolds is driving beer across the country in a hurry, and they are chased down by the sheriff, Buford T Justice.” Hen spoke, she glanced at Buck who had a blank look on his face. 
“Uh… that’s, uh… Smokey and the Bandit.” Chim spoke, snapping his fingers as the title finally came to his mind. Hen dropped the paper onto the table before grabbing the next one.
“Who in the hell…” She glanced up from the paper, looking for Buck. “You did this one.” Hen rolled her eyes. “A… classic... cartoon character.”
“Mickey Mouse?” Athena asked slowly, her face scrunching in confusion.  
“From Looney Tunes.”
“Daffy Duck? Bugs Bunny?” Chim shot off the names, before Hen acknowledged that it was Bugs, moving on to the next. The game continued for a while, everyone becoming more involved and competitive than the round before. And their friends realizing with each round how very little the Buckley siblings knew about pop culture and movies.
The game ended up being far closer than any of them had expected. Chimney and Karen clearly carrying the majority of their teams through each of the rounds. At one point in the game, Athena’s team lost their lead thanks to Buck. He had ended up earning them several penalties, when he blanked on a few of the answers and either blurted out the answer outright, or used words that were too close to the actual answer. After three rounds, Team Nash was declared the winner.
Athena laughed as everyone cleared their glasses and bowls and moved  into the kitchen to help clean up. “And for the record? Bugs Bunny is not a celebrity.” She told Buck as she took his glass and set it in the sink, a motherly smile on her face. 
**
“Harry! You need to finish up. You and Bobby have to leave soon for the game.” Athena called outside. The Department was hosting a Father-Son Basketball game as a fundraiser for Fire Prevention and Safety programs in some of the local schools. Bobby wasn’t intending to play; he just planned to go there to sit on the sidelines, cheering people on and seeing where he could help. However, Athena had suggested that Harry might want to play with him. And after Bobby had spoken to about it with Michael and gotten the okay, Harry could not have been more excited to be on Bobby’s team.
The boy had been spending much of his extra time outside, practicing for the game. Bobby treated Harry like he was his own kid, and not just some step-kid that he’d inherited from another marriage. The last thing that Harry wanted was to disappoint him. “Mom!” Harry’s screech came from out back, and Athena was there in an instant.
“Harry, what is it? What’s wrong, baby?” She made her way out the back door, crouching down beside him to where the little boy sat on the ground, clutching his ankle.
“I was just practicing!” Tears slipped down his cheeks quickly. “Mom, how am I going to play?”
Athena gently reached for his ankle, trying to gauge the injury, seeing the swelling that had already begun. “Oh, baby, you’re not going to be able to play in the game today.”
“But Mom, Bobby is going to be so upset!”
“It’s going to be alright, let’s get you inside and get this taken care of, and then we’ll worry about Bobby, okay?” Athena helped Harry to his feet, helping him to hobble inside and settling him on the couch before she retrieved an ice pack to help with the swelling.
“Hey Harry, are you as psyched as I am about--” Bobby stopped mid-sentence as he made his way out to the living room where Harry was resting, watching as Athena gently stroked his cheek. “What happened?” Bobby’s brow furrowed in concern as he joined Athena beside the couch.
“Bobby, I’m so sorry.” The words tumbled out of Harry’s mouth so quickly that Bobby could barely understand them. Harry’s eyes moved up to Bobby’s, afraid to see the disappointment there.
“You don’t have to be sorry.” Bobby assured him softly. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“He’s alright.” Athena spoke after a pause, rising from the couch and placing her hand on Bobby’s arm. “He was practicing for the benefit game, and he twisted his ankle pretty badly. He can’t put much pressure on it, so he’s not going to be able to play.” She explained.
“That’s okay.” Bobby told her as they stepped away from the couch, where Harry was trying to rest. “I’ll just call and let them know that I won’t be playing today.”
“You’ll do no such thing.” Athena told him with a sideways glance.
Bobby looked at her in confusion. “I only have one step-son, Athena. I don’t think I can produce another one in the next two hours.”
“You’re only considering one of your houses, Bobby. Don’t worry,  I’ll have a backup for you in no time.” She told him with a confident smile, before she pressed a kiss to Bobby’s lips. “Why don’t you go up and get showered before the game and I’ll take care of everything else?”
A short while later, Bobby returned to the living room where Harry had dozed off with his ankle elevated and iced. Bobby heard a knock at the front door, and not seeing Athena, he walked to the front door and pulled it open.
“Buck, what are you doing here?” Bobby asked after he opened the door. “Is everything okay?”
To his surprise, Bobby heard his wife’s voice behind him.  “If there is anyone I know that should be an honorary Nash for the day, it’s Buck.”
Bobby turned around and looked at Athena. She truly never ceased to amaze him. Aside from his own children and step children, there was nobody else that he looked to with the same kind of fatherly love as Buck. He’d done everything in his power to protect him in situations in the past, often beyond the typical  protection or guidance one would give to a subordinate.  A conversation with Athena quickly came to mind, where she’d given Bobby some parenting advice, in regard to Buck. At the time Bobby had argued that Buck wasn’t his kid, but that notion had long since been pushed aside.
Bobby smiled warmly at the young firefighter who stood in front of him, wearing a LAFD shirt and a pair of gym shorts. “Thanks for coming on such short notice, Buck.”
“Of course, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” Buck assured him, adjusting the small black duffel bag over his shoulder.
A small grin crossed Bobby’s lips before he gently clapped Buck on the shoulder. “Let’s do this, Evan Nash. You’ve got some big shoes to fill.”
**
Christopher was settled on the couch at Maddie and Chimney’s, a coloring book resting in his lap. Chimney sat on one side, and Maddie on the other. They had been begging for some extra time with Christopher as of late. As Buck and Eddie’s relationship had grown, Aunt Maddie and Uncle Chim had become pretty regular faces for him.
He loved spending quality time with them, and the couple enjoyed his company even more. It was a good chance for Buck and Eddie to get out on their own and enjoy a quiet date night too.
Tonight had been even more special because Hen had dropped by, and the four of them had enjoyed a dinner together, followed by an intense game of Uno Attack. A game that Christopher had slaughtered every single one of them in, more than once.
Christopher sat hunched over his coloring book, focusing closely on the firefighter that he was coloring, his tongue pushing out past his lips in what appeared to be absolute concentration.“Uncle Chimney?” Chris asked, not glancing up as he spoke.
“Yeah, bud?” 
“You and Aunt Maddie live here together, right?” Christopher asked, not glancing up from the coloring book as he spoke.  
Chimney nodded his head lightly. “Yeah, we live together, Chris. We’re married.” He added, in his mind thinking that explained everything, when in reality that sparked an entirely different set of questions.
“And what’s her last name?” He asked carefully, closing his coloring book as he looked to Chimney for the answer. He balanced the book on his lap, letting the red crayon roll gently back and forth against the cover.
“... Han.” Chimney hesitated as he answered, eyes moving to Maddie as though to ask her what this was all about.
“And Aunt Hen, Karen, and Denny, they all live together. And their last name is Wilson.” He stated simply.
Maddie looked at the little boy closely, trying to understand where the questions were coming from. “Chris, is there something that you needed to ask us?” She asked gently, turning her attention to him as she moved the coloring book and crayons out of his lap, setting them down on the coffee table.
“All of your families have the same last name.” Chris observed, his eyes locking on Maddie’s. Her mouth opened slightly as though to speak, before Christopher continued. “So, my Buck should be Buck Diaz, then.”
“I…” Maddie trailed off slowly, at a loss for words for a moment. She pursed her lips momentarily, trying to figure out how to explain to Chris that Buck and Eddie weren’t married, not like everyone else was. “But Buck doesn’t live with you.”
“Not all the time.” Christopher told her matter-of-factly. The truth was that although Buck still had his own apartment, his own things, and his own space, he rarely used them. Most nights he would choose to go to Eddie and Christopher’s and they would spend family time together, which was Christopher’s absolute favorite. The only way to top those evenings, was for Chris to wake up and have both his Dad and his Buck there in the morning. Those were the best days. Perfect days.
On those days, Buck would help Eddie make breakfast, and they’d turn on cartoons and lounge in their pajamas all morning. On one of those days, Buck and Eddie had surprised Christopher with a trip to the zoo, and they had spent a solid forty-five minutes studying the elephants, just because those had always been Christopher’s favorite. 
Chimney rose to his feet, gently grabbing hold of Maddie’s arm and urging her into the other room. “We’ll be right back, Chris.” He called, turning to look Maddie square in the eyes as they reached the kitchen. “There is only one way to stop the madness.” Chim hissed at his wife in a loud whisper.
“What’s that, Chim?” Maddie laughed quietly, bringing the glass of wine to her lips, her eyes dancing with amusement.
“Buck needs to actually change his last name,” he said, as though it were that simple. 
“There’s just one problem.” Maddie reminded Chimney. “They aren’t even engaged.”
“Well, when the hell is Eddie getting back here?” He asked as he opened up the cupboard, grabbing a bag of chips and dumping it into a bowl. 
“They should be back any minute now.” Maddie assured him as she glanced at the clock. “They said they’d be back by nine-thirty, and it’s after nine now.” Maddie and Chimney returned to the living room, and Chim offered the bowl of chips to the boy.
“I have another question.” Christopher quipped after a short pause. Chimney resisted the urge to groan, doubting that he was going to have the correct answer to anything that Christopher would ask.
“Sure, what’s that?”
“How did you get Aunt Maddie to marry you and have the same last name as you?” Christopher turned his body slightly, focusing on his Uncle Chimney intently. 
“I just asked her.” Chim explained simply.
“Oh.” Christopher nodded, deep in thought, as he took a chip from the bowl that Chimney had offered him and popped it into his mouth.
Maddie watched the boys get situated on the couch as she grabbed a throw blanket off the back of the couch, covering both of them up. “How about we put some cartoons on until your Dad gets here?” Christopher nodded his head in approval, a small yawn escaping his lips.
Fifteen minutes later Buck and Eddie arrived at Maddie and Chim’s. “Sorry we’re late.” Eddie apologized. “How was he?”
“He was an angel as always.” Maddie replied, a fond smile spreading across her lips as she glanced at the boy who had dozed off only a few minutes into the cartoon.
“He sure asks a lot of questions.” As Chim spoke, Maddie shot him a warning glance. Wordlessly, Chim held up his hands before he grabbed the empty bowl and returned to the kitchen. 
Buck smiled as he crouched down to Christopher’s level, gently scooping the boy up, lifting him until his head was resting heavily against Buck’s shoulder. “You got everything?” He asked Eddie quietly, who had grabbed the bag with all of Christopher’s things.
Moments later, they had said their goodbyes and left the apartment. “Buck…” Christopher’s voice was heavy with sleep.
“Go back to sleep, buddy.” Buck spoke to him gently as they reached Eddie’s truck, Eddie opening the door to help Buck get him in more easily. 
“Will you be my Bucky Diaz?” Buck had a look of surprise on his face.  He remained silent as he got Christopher into his seat and buckled in. He finally let out a quiet laugh, eyes searching for Eddie. 
“Eds? Where’d you go?” Finally, Buck turned around as he continued his search for Eddie. His breath caught for a brief moment, seeing Eddie behind him on one knee. 
“So, this isn’t how this was supposed to go. And this isn’t where I planned on asking you, in the parking lot at Maddie’s,” Eddie said as he let out an uneasy laugh. “But that kid in there loves you as much as I do, maybe even more. And he clearly wants you to be a part of this family, too. So I feel like it’s unfair to wait. We’d love for you to become a Diaz, or a Buckley-Diaz, if that’s your thing.” Eddie laughed again, the nerves consuming him. “What I am trying to ask, so completely terribly, is will you marry me Evan Buckley?”
Buck reached down wordlessly, grabbed Eddie by the hands and pulled him to his feet - making sure they were as close to each other as physically possible. “I didn’t think you were ever going to ask.” Buck teased, before Eddie grabbed his face in both of his hands, and pressed his lips against Buck’s, both of them falling easily and blissfully into a deep kiss. 
**
Buck awoke to a feeling of heady warmth behind him. A contented sigh slipped past his lips, as he felt an arm circle around him before resting against his bare chest. “Good morning, Mr. Buckley-Diaz.” Eddie murmured against his ear.
“That’s not my name.” Buck spoke back quietly, the pads of his fingers gently moving against Eddie’s arm.
“Buck, we are not playing this game again. You don’t have to worry about just being a Buckley anymore, I thought our wedding yesterday would solidify that for you. This has been going on for a year now, since Maddie and Chim’s wedding.” Eddie laughed, as Buck turned over in his arms.
“I’m not playing a game.” Buck assured him, leaning forward to brush his lips against Eddie’s. “I decided it’s not going to be Buckley-Diaz.”
“Oh,” Eddie nodded his head minimally as he sat up in their bed. There was a slight sound of disappointment in his voice. “Decided to keep the Buckley name alive after all, did you?”
“No, Eds.” Buck looked at Eddie closely for a moment, before realizing what must be going through Eddie’s mind. He sat up beside Eddie in bed, his fingers moving in small circles over Eddie’s bare back before he placed a tender kiss against his shoulder blade. “I’m dropping Buckley. I want to be Evan Diaz. I want to share a last name with my boys.”
“Evan.” The emotion in Eddie’s voice was discernible, as he turned his body towards Buck, so that he was able to search Buck’s face. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.” He assured him, a smile pulling at his lips. “Now will you shut up for a minute and kiss your husband?” Buck’s laugh was low in his throat, before he pressed his lips against Eddie’s, fingers resting below Eddie’s abs, at the waistband of his sweats.
Eddie pulled back an inch to speak. “Oh, I’ll do more than kiss him.” Eddie promised quietly, a small smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.
As their bodies intertwined, Buck couldn’t think of anyone else that he would rather be than Evan Diaz.
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name-me-regret · 3 years
Text
If The World Was Ending 7/?
If The World Was Ending Chapter Seven: A Little Peace Of Mind
- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~
“I'm so tired I haven't slept a wink I'm so tired My mind is on the blink I wonder, should I get up and fix myself a drink? No, no, no
I'm so tired I don't know what to do I'm so tired My mind is set on you I wonder should I call you But I know what you would do...
You know I'd give you everything I've got for a little peace of mind...”
~I’m So Tired - The Beatles
- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~
Buck looked at his sister with pain and grief, not seeming to realize that either Tony or the rest of the members of the 118 were close by. “I... Mads... Eddie dropped Christopher off with me,” he told her, voice shaking. “He-he thought, you know, doing some actitivities with him would take would-would get me out of my apartment and out of my head.” She reached out to wipe several tears that ran down his face. “Maddie... I brought him to the pier.”
She’d grabbed his hand and now squeezed it, trying not to think of him with Christopher at the pier. It would likely give her nightmares. “And... and I had him. All right, Mads? I-I had him. I-I kept him safe.” He gave a sardonic smile and a forced laugh. “We were, uh... we were on top of a ladder truck, then the water receded... and... then he was gone. I lost Christopher,” he said, a crying mess at that point. Neither Tony or the others could move or say anything as the man poured out his heart to his sister. “I c-checked the emergency refuge camps at the Promenade, at the high school... a cupcakery on Strand,” he said with a hysterical laugh that was more of a sob.
“Oh Evan,” she wept, bringing her other hand over the one she was holding.
“I swear I don’t even remember cutting myself... I j-just... I lost him so I had to find him, no matter what. I couldn’t face Eddie until I did, because how could I tell my best friend I lost his son?” He clenched his eyes closed. “He trusted me and I failed him... failed Christopher.”
She smiled past her tears, beyond trying to keep them from falling as they ran down her face. Tony was at the head of his cot out of Evan’s line of sight, and he was content to stay there, now that he saw for himself he was alright. “Evan, look at you, baby brother. You’re a mess. You lost enough blood to need at least two transfusions.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead. “And you managed to find him, even being like this. Even if you hadn’t, you did everything you could to find him. You are not a failure, Evan Buckley.”
Tony took that moment to reveal himself when he saw Evan about to protest. “You know you’ll never win an argument against her, so don’t even try it. Even I can’t win one and I’m a certified genius,” he said as he stepped into Buck’s line of sight. He laid a hand on Maddie’s shoulder as a sign of support. “And what did I say this morning about staying out of trouble?”
Evan stared up at Tony with wide blue eyes. “Tony? W-what are you doing here?” He frowned. “And you didn’t say anything about keeping out of trouble,” he argued, because of course he would.
Tony stared at him and then looked at Maddie. “Is he kidding?” She shook her head, but there was a bit of a smile on her face. “I’m here to see you. In case you forgot, you were hit with a tsunami, Ev. You were supposed to be safe at home, but I should have known you’d put yourself in the middle of this.” His voice was teasing, but his whiskey brown eyes gave away how worried he’d been. There was a reason he always wore sunglasses, since his eyes were the most expressive part of his face.
Evan licked his dry and cracked lips. “You know, when I said come visit me, I didn’t expect it to be this soon,” he joked, never mind that he was laid up in a field hospital, beat up to hell from a natural disaster.
“Well, how can I not come running when its an invitation from someone as pretty as you,” Tony said with a more relaxed grin, the panic induced worry having subsided a bit. Also, his exhaustion was quickly catching up to him and he felt a bit light headed.
“Ugh, can you two please not flirt over my head?” Maddie said as she threw up her hands. “Honestly, its always the same with you two.”
The other members had heard the whole thing and had been utterly shocked into quiet, and it was finally Chimney that broke the silence. “Buck, you know Tony Stark? And flirt with him?” the man asked incredulously.
The blonde haired man, whose hair was so filthy it looked dark brown at the moment, snorted. He didn’t even seem shocked to see them there, or worrying that they might have heard him and what he’d said to Maddie. “Tony flirts with everyone,” he told the others, seemingly unfazed about them knowing he knew Iron Man. “He once flirted with our 80-year-old grandmother.”
Tony looked offended. “I’ll have you know-” The rest of his sentence was cut off as he suddenly crumpled as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. If it wasn’t for Bobby’s quick reflexes, the billionaire would have hit the floor.
Evan sat up in alarm, blue eyes wide in shock and one arm around his mid-section where he had a contusion from being knocked around when he’d been hit with the first wave. “Is he okay?! Did he get hurt?” His face was screwed up in pain and Maddie forced him to lay back down, but only did when Bobby, with the help of Hen and Chim, had laid Tony onto the empty cot next to his.
“Check him for any injuries,” Bobby said to Hen and Chim.
However, before either could move to comply, the sound of heavy footsteps interrupted them, and moments later the Iron Man armor clanked into view. ‘I’m sorry, Captain Nash, but I’m going to have to ask you to step away from Mr. Stark,’ a mechanized British voice came from the suit.
Bobby and the rest of them held out their hands in a universal sign of surrender, but took it as a good sign that the armor hadn’t lifted it’s hands. They’d seen enough footage of the Iron Man in action (whether from YouTube videos or news footage) to know that’s where the blasts he fired came from.
Bobby remembered hearing Tony talking to someone by the name Jarvis, and wondered if this was that person. Perhaps they were operating the armor from another location. “Jarvis was it?” The other didn’t answer but the armor had come to stop beside the cot they’d put Tony in. Now people were starting to take notice of Tony. “We just want to help him, make sure he isn’t hurt,” Bobby told him.
‘There is no need. Mr. Stark has sustained no injury. His collapse was caused by extreme fatigue. I will take him now and proceed back to the tower.’
Bobby made a face at that, since they all knew what tower he was talking about; Stark Tower, which was in New York. That was a long trip, even in a suit that could go at high speeds. “Or,” Maddie said as she stood up slowly, “you could take him to my house. I have an air mattress from when Evan was staying with me.”
The Iron Man armor turned to look at her, and it was a bit unsettling knowing it wasn’t Tony in there moving it around. ‘Madeline Buckley, you are a trusted person. This is acceptable. Although, I will inform his medical proxy of his location in case he needs any medical assistance.’
Maddie nodded. “Of course, now is it alright to have my boyfriend Howie Han and his partner Henrietta Wilson get him out to my car?” She wouldn’t be able to get him out of here without some kind of help.
‘That is acceptable,’ Jarvis informed her.
Her eyes snapped to Buck as he tried to sit up again. “And what do you think you’re doing?”
Evan groaned as he swung his legs over the side of the cot. “I’m going with you, of course,” he said. As he straightened, his gaze caught with Eddie’s and saw Christopher in his arms. The boy seemed to be fast asleep and Buck felt relief fill him. It was one thing to be told he was safe and another to actually see if for himself. “Chris...”
Eddie stepped closer, the man trying to squash the... annoyance he was feeling ever since he’d heard Tony freaking Stark say Buck’s name (and flirting with him, but he wouldn’t delve too much into that right now). Who, apparently, called him by his first name, as well as a nickname that wasn’t the one they were all used to; Ev he’d called him. Eddie couldn’t describe exactly why this bothered him. “He’s fine... Buck,” he said, hoping he didn’t notice his hesitation.
The man didn’t seem to notice, but he saw Bobby eye him in his peripheral but decided to ignore it for now. “I’m glad,” Buck gasped, his eyes red as if it was taking everything in him to keep from crying. He’d seen how vulnerable Buck had been with Maddie and Eddie had never seen him lose so much control. It burned a bitterness in his throat, especially wondering if Stark had ever seen Buck this vulnerable.
Then the man was grunting as he forced himself to his feet. “Wait, Buck,” Eddie said as Bobby jerked forward as Buck swayed. The man’s parental instincts always kicked into overhear whenever Buck was involved. Eddie at times wondered if Buck reminded him of the son he’d lost, but had never had to balls to ask. There were some things you didn’t ask Bobby Nash, and one of those things was about the children he’d lost. “You should stay. You’re still hurt.”
The blonde man shook his head, Eddie’s lips thinning with a frown that he seemed so intent on accompanying Tony that he was disregarding his own health. “I’m fine, and besides, there are other more seriously injured people that need this bed.”
“Man, why you gotta be so stubborn?” Eddie snapped, quieting down when Chris gave a sleepy moan and shifted in his arms. “I’m sure... Iron Man’s friend can take care of him.” He indicated the suit. “He doesn’t need an escort.”
Buck was looking at him with a confused frown, and Eddie knew he was being unreasonable, but he was irritated. Eddie had almost lost Chris, and then realized that he had also almost lost his best friend as well. It was a combination of everything that was fueling his annoyance; from the dismissive nurse even if he knew he shouldn’t, and realizing he’d left Buck alone while injured. Also, having been yelled at by Maddie after she’d relayed Buck’s condition to her over the phone.
That hadn’t been a fun conversation, but he’d felt a bit vindicated that he’d managed to calm her down. Maddie was never easily calmed when it came to Buck’s safety, and that was especially true after the bombing incident. And she was a force to be reckoned with. So, he’d been a bit irritated with how easily the woman had spoken with Tony, how even Buck had easily bantered with Tony Stark; flirted with him even.
“I know JARVIS can protect him,” he told Eddie even as he stood despite everyone telling him to lay back down. “I’d just feel better knowing someone with a physical body was there to watch over Tony.” He glanced at the suit with a stiff smile, likely because he was in pain; stubborn bastard. “No offense, J.”
‘No offense taken, Mr. Buckley,’ the British voice told him. ‘It would be reassuring to have both of you watching over sir.’
“Are you sure you’ll have enough room at your place?” Bobby asked. “You could all come over to my house. I have plenty of room. Michael has May and Harry over at his place and Athena is on shift.”
Buck didn’t say anything to oppose the idea, since he’d been over plenty of times, especially during his recovery following the two surgeries on his leg. It almost felt like a second home, well third, since Eddie’s house was practically his second home. As for Maddie, she wasn’t too sure. “I don’t know... I mean, as long as J doesn’t have a problem with it.”
‘I’ll just need the address to make sure it’s safe and secure,’ he told Bobby.
The man and JARVIS conversed on the ‘security measures’ that had to be taken. Meanwhile, Maddie helped her brother into a wheelchair despite his protests, while Hen and Chim maneuvered Tony onto a second wheelchair, since it’d be easier to get him into Maddie’s car that way. As for Buck, his Jeep was likely completely totaled since it’d been in the parking lot of the pier when the tsunami hit. So, he would have to ride with his sister.
Eddie asked to come along since he wanted to get Chris home but he didn’t have his vehicle. So, it was a tight fit in the car with Buck, Tony and Chris in the back and Eddie riding shot gun.
“Guess we’re having a big sleepover,” Buck giggled, groaning as it caused him some discomfort. Eddie glanced back at him and almost wished he hadn’t, since Tony was slumped against the taller man, head resting on his shoulder and he hated to admit that they made for a good-looking couple. Buck hadn’t dated since Eddie had known him, since the thing with Abby was finished by the time he came along (despite Buck’s denials), and the thing with that reporter hadn’t been an actual relationship.
Now, he was seeing the man being cozy with another, a man even, and Eddie wasn’t liking it one bit. He just couldn’t (or wouldn’t admit) as to why that was. After all, they were friends, and he convinced himself —not too successfully— that it was because he was used to having all of Buck’s attention, that he didn’t know what to do now that Tony was in the picture.
Apparently, he’d been in the picture longer than Eddie had known Buck.
“I’m not letting you two out of my sight,” Maddie grumbled, looking at her brother through the rear view mirror.
Buck snorted and Eddie bit his lip to keep from saying anything stupid, and that sounded jealous.
Because, nope, he wasn’t jealous at all.-
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