Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s late afternoon, and the team is finishing up on a call at a high school where a kid thought it would be funny to pull the fire alarm. Spoiler alert: it was not funny. Bobby was currently in the principal’s office lecturing the kid, while the other members of the team were leaning against the truck talking amongst themselves, waiting for their captain to return.

After another five minutes pass, Buck starts to get antsy. Eddie notices straight away and dismisses himself from his conversation with the new probie to go over to Buck.

“Hey Buck, what’s going on in that beautiful brain of yours?” Eddie asks with a smile.

Buck blushes, then takes a deep breath before explaining. “I’m supposed to get a call from my doctor right about now, but she hasn’t called yet.”

Eddie’s eyebrows raise in concern. “Your doctor? Is everything alright?”

Buck’s eyes open in shock. “Yes! Yeah, everything’s alright. It’s just to make an appointment. One that I’ve been waiting a long time for, that is, so I’m kind of nervous.”

He glances around at the other team members before dragging a confused Eddie around to the other side of the truck.

“Listen, I have to tell you something very important.” Buck says while looking at the ground. Eddie places his hand on Buck’s shoulder to get him to look him in the eyes. They make eye contact, and Buck takes another deep breath. “I’m trying to get top surgery.”

“Buck, that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you!” Eddie exclaims as he pulls Buck into a bear hug, but he doesn’t hug back. This starts to concern Eddie, so he asks, “Isn’t that a good thing? I thought you’ve been wanting that for pretty much your whole life?”

Buck sighs, then admits, “Well, yeah, but now I’m starting to have doubts. What if I regret it? I will have wasted thousands of dollars and scarred my body forever.”

“Hey,” Eddie takes a breath. “Is that you talking, or is it your parents?”

Buck starts to go red and avoids Eddie’s gaze. “Maybe both? I don’t really know anymore. My entire childhood, they were so adamant that I was Evangeline. They wouldn’t let me be who I wanted. I had to be who they wanted. Did you know Maddie was the first person to see me for who I am? She was actually the one who suggested the name Evan. I liked it because it was similar to my birth name. That way, I could get away with saying it was a nickname if I had to.” He chuckles slightly.

“I had no idea. I’m so sorry you had to go through that Buck.” This time, Buck reciprocates when Eddie hugs him. Eddie then pulls back and asks, “So, are you going to do it? I can be with you every step of the way if you want me to. I’ll have your back.” He says that last part with a wink and a soft smile.

Buck chuckles slightly, then shrugs. “I don’t know. Probably. Most likely.”

Eddie smiles. “Well, alright then.” He looks down at his watch and realizes that they’ve been talking for some time. “We should probably head back to the others, wouldn’t want them to get worried.”

Buck nods, and then they begin to walk around to the other side of the firetruck.

“Well well well. Where have you two lovebirds been?” Chimney asks as they come into view.

“Quit teasin’ them, Chim.” Hen scolds. “No, but seriously, where have you been? We turned, and you were gone.”

“We just had a little chat behind the truck. Nothing too serious.” Eddie says with a quick look at Buck.

“A chat , huh?” Chimney quips. “Ow!” He exclaims when Hen smacks him upside the head.

“Yes, Howard . A chat.” Eddie glares.

Just then, they notice Bobby a few feet away from the truck.

“Nobody say anything, I know how long I was in there. Trust me, I did not want to be in there any longer.” Bobby says with a huff as he climbs into his seat and shuts the door loudly.

The four of them share a confused look and then climb into the truck as well.

And if anyone notices Buck and Eddie’s legs intertwined, they don’t mention it.

Then again, it’s not that out of the ordinary, but this time, they’re not doing it subconsciously.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

They’re pulling into the station when Buck’s phone begins to ring. He checks to see who it is, then makes eye contact with Eddie when he realizes it’s his doctor. The second the truck is parked, Buck is out the door and headed to the locker room.

He answers the phone as he sits down on the bench. “Dr. Coleman, hi.”

“Hello Mr. Buckley.” He hears through the phone. “How are you doing?”

“Ah, you know, getting by.” He says with a sad chuckle.

“I have great news! We may have an opening for you in 2 weeks; the 27th. Would you be available then?” She questions.

“Y-yeah! I’m available.” He replies with a deep breath.

Dr. Coleman’s tone softens, and she says, “Perfect. Now, we will have to have a meeting beforehand, just to discuss some final details. I will email you after this call and get back to you soon. Have a good night, Mr. Buckley.”

Buck hangs up the phone with a big weight lifted off his chest. He takes a steadying breath as the other members of the team start to pour into the locker room. Eddie comes up beside him and rests a gentle hand on his shoulder, making eye contact with him to ensure he’s alright. Buck nods and then starts getting changed like everyone else.

 ִֶָ 𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆★⋆  ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ

Time passes, and before Buck knows it, he and Eddie are dropping Chris off at Maddie’s and heading to the hospital—but not before extra tight hugs from the two.

They sit in the waiting room chairs by Dr. Coleman’s office, silently holding hands. Platonically, of course. Buck has to keep reminding himself.

When they sat down, Eddie immediately moved a chair next to Buck. Buck wasn’t complaining, though. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he really likes it when they have some sort of physical contact. It grounds him. When they do touch, it’s not soft or light,—Eddie knows he hates that feeling—it's pressured. Whether it's holding hands, intertwining their legs, or even just hugging, he likes the feel. He likes to be able to feel Eddie.

They wait like that for a few minutes before they're being called into Dr. Coleman's office. She's sitting behind her desk with papers and pens in front of her and a smile on her face. 

“Mr. Buckley, Mr. Buckley's friend, come on in, take a seat.” She says kindly.

The two share a quick glance and small smile, and then sit down in the comfortable chairs provided.

Eddie leans forward to shake Dr. Coleman's hand and introduces himself. “My name is Eddie Diaz, I'm Buck’s partner.”

Buck blushes at the term ‘partner’, but doesn't let it show. Neither of them mention that they're just work partners. But maybe Eddie wants to be, he did say ‘partner’ after all... Buck thinks.

He pulls himself from his thoughts when Dr. Coleman begins to speak to him again.

They go over a couple of details, sign some papers, and then they're waving goodbye and heading to his hospital room.

As they enter, they notice a teddy bear on the bed and flowers by the window. No doubt from Maddie, Buck thinks as he smiles at the kind gesture. He hadn't told anybody he was getting the surgery except for Maddie, Eddie, and Bobby, of course. He and Eddie hadn't told Chris all the details, just that he was going to have surgery. As understanding as the kid is, he wasn't ready to tell him yet.

They walk over to the bed and sit down to wait for the nurse to come get him. They're holding hands again, Buck notices, but he doesn't say anything. He's afraid if he mentions it, then Eddie will get shy and pull his hand away, and he doesn't want that.

The nurse eventually comes in 10 minutes later carrying a hospital gown in their arms. They hand it over to Buck as they say, “I'll be just outside this door. When you’re ready, I'll take you down to the OR.”

Buck smiles and turns to Eddie, gown in hand. His smile begins to falter, but immediately Eddie takes his face in his hands.

“Hey, what's wrong? Are you nervous?” He asks in a soft voice.

Buck doesn't say anything. He just nods.

Eddie smiles sadly at Buck and pulls him into a tight hug. They stay like that for a minute before Buck pulls back and wipes away the single tear that escaped.

“You got this, Buck. There's no need to be nervous. Everything will go perfectly. And when you're done, you'll be even more handsome. And not because of the chest—because you'll be you .” Eddie states, chasing eye contact.

He presses a gentle kiss to his birthmark, then places his hands on Buck's shoulders.

“Now, you go get your surgery, and I'll meet you right back here when it's done. Okay?”

Buck nods and gives Eddie one last quick hug and says, “Thank you. Thank you for being here.”

“Of course, Buck. I have your back any day.” Eddie responds with a wink, echoing his words from years earlier.

Buck laughs, then turns to get changed. Eddie sneaks out the door into the hallway to give him some privacy, but almost walks into the nurse on his way.

“He should be done in two to three hours if you want to go out and get food or something.” The nurse says with a kind smile. Eddie nods as a thank you and heads to the garage to his truck.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Eddie spends those three hours going from store to store, purchasing items for a gift basket that he's going to give Buck. He gets him some trail mix, a crossword and word search puzzle book—Buck's favourites—and some other small items to keep him busy during recovery. He also bought them some yogurt bowls from that new place that Buck really likes.

He drives back to the hospital with his surprises and heads up to Buck's room. He arranges everything the way he wants and then sits on the chair by the window to have a quick nap while he waits for Buck.

The nurse rolls him in just as Eddie is about to shut his eyes. He immediately sits up and makes eye contact with a tired Buck.

“He's still coming off of anesthesia, but he should be fine in a few minutes.” The nurse says with a smile. Eddie thanks them, then heads over to Buck and holds his hand.

“Hey, handsome.” He says softly. This earns a weary smile from Buck. Eddie brings his hand up to Buck's head and cards his fingers through his hair. Another weary smile. They stay like that for a few minutes until Buck is more awake.

“Would you like some yogurt?” Eddie asks innocently. Buck's eyes light up, and he exclaims, “From Yo-Go Yo-Go?!” Eddie smiles a big smile and nods in confirmation.

Eddie had done a bunch of research on how to take care of someone after top surgery, and one of the things it had said was eating healthy foods like yogurt, nuts, and berries were good. So he combined the three.

Buck takes the container from Eddie excitedly, very eager to dig in.

The two eat in comfortable silence before Eddie gets up and grabs the basket that Buck hadn't noticed yet. He brings it over to the bed and lightly places it in his lap.

“Oh, Eds, you didn't have to do this…” Buck says with tears in his eyes.

“I know I didn't have to, I wanted to.” They make eye contact, and Eddie leans over to place a kiss on the top of his head.

Buck spends some time excitedly looking through the basket, and Eddie secretly snaps a picture to send to Maddie. She responds fairly quickly.

Maddie: how is he doing?? when can he come home?

Eddie: The nurse said he did very well. Said he could go home in a couple of hours, so I don't know if you want to come now or wait until then.

Maddie: we can wait :) lmk when you guys get home and we'll head over a little while after

Eddie: Okay, see you then!

He shoves his phone back in his pocket as Buck looks back up at him. “All okay?” He asks with an anxious tone.

“Yeah, just it’s Maddie. She's going to bring Chris home a little while after we get there. And then she and Jee-Yun are going to stay for a little bit.” Eddie answers with a reassuring smile.

He heads over to the chair by the window and starts to pack up the bags. “Are you about ready to head home? We can leave within the hour.”

“Yeah. Just gotta get changed, and we can head out…” Buck trails off. “I need your help to change.” His face starts to turn red as he looks at Eddie.

“Of course! Just let me know what you want me to do.” Eddie says with a positive tone.

“Can you help me get up? I can't really move.”

“I can do that.” Eddie says with a smile, happy to help.

He walks over and places one knee on the bed beside Buck. Supporting Buck's shoulders with one arm, he drapes Buck's right arm over his neck. Sliding his other arm behind Buck’s back, he lifts him into a seated position. Then, he moves his arm under Buck’s legs and turns to plant his feet on the floor.

“Good so far?” He asks. 

“Yup. Let's do this.” Buck confidently replies.

Eddie moves his knee between Buck's against the bed, wrapping his arms around Buck. After a second, he stands up straight.

“Okay. Now to get you changed.” Eddie says shyly. Neither of them acknowledge the blush on their faces.

He walks over to the bag and grabs a change of comfortable clothes. Then, he turns Buck around to untie the hospital gown and slides it off of him. He takes the t-shirt and puts it on Buck's arms before carefully pulling the neck hole over his head. He helps Buck pull on some sweatpants and then hands over some sandals. The sandals had sharks on them—courtesy of Chris.

Eddie grabs the bags on one arm and wraps the other around Buck to make sure he stays upright. They head to the nurse's station, say their goodbyes, and then head to the truck. Eddie puts the stuff in the back before helping Buck into the passenger seat and then heading over to the driver's side. He starts the truck, and when he looks over at Buck, he's already drifting off. Eddie turns the radio on softly and then begins their journey home. Their home.

 ִֶָ 𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆★⋆  ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ

Eddie turns down the radio as they pull into the driveway. He turns the truck off and runs to unlock the door to the house. Then, he brings all the bags in and sets them on the table before going back out to get Buck.

He lightly places his hand on Buck's shoulder and starts to rub circles, waking him up.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” He says lovingly, seeing the yawn Buck lets out.

“Ugh, what time is it?” Buck grumbles.

“Time for you to get up.” Eddie jokes. He earns a light-hearted glare at that. “Come on, let's get you in the house.”

He helps Buck out of the truck, and they head inside the house. Once they cross the threshold, Buck begins to make his way to the couch. He stops in his tracks when he hears, “Woah, where are you going?”

He turns around to face a concerned Eddie with his hands on his hips. Buck begins to blush and stutters out, “Uh, the-the couch, where I usually stay.” He says as if it was a question rather than a statement.

Eddie looks hurt, and this just makes Buck even more confused. “Not happening.” Eddie says as he clears his throat. “You're staying in my bed. It'll be much better for you.”

Buck's eyes go wide. “Eds, there's no way I can take your bed, I'll be fine on the couch. I've been fine all the times I've slept on it before, and I'll be fine now-”

“Evan,” Eddie cuts him off with a sigh. “You just had surgery. You need a bed, not a couch.”

Buck sighs. “Alright Edmundo .” He says with a bit of sass. “But where will you sleep? If I can't sleep on the couch, then you definitely can't.”

“And why is that?” Eddie says while raising an eyebrow, hands still on his hips.

“Because you're an old man. It'll kill your back.” Buck says, feigning innocence.

Eddie playfully glares at him. “You're older than me, dumbass.”

Buck shrugs, or, attempts to shrug, as he can't move very much. He winces, and all traces of playfulness on Eddie's face turn to worry.

“What happened? Are you okay?” He questions as he takes a step closer, placing a gentle hand on Buck's shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It just hurts to shrug.” He says with a weak smile.

Eddie sighs and begins to lead Buck in the direction of his room. “Let's get you settled, okay?” He asks kindly.

Buck allows him to lead him to his room, even though he knows the layout of this house by heart. They stop at the end of the bed, and Eddie moves to set up some pillows on the right side of the bed. Once he's done, he jokingly does a bow as he points his hand to the bed. “Voilà. For you, kind sir.”

He straightens up with a wide grin on his face, and all Buck can think about is, His smile is so beautiful. He is so beautiful. Buck has to physically shake the thoughts out of his head as he heads over to the bed. He hopes Eddie didn't notice.

Eddie helps him into the bed, then announces that he'll be right back. He returns about two minutes later with ice packs and hand towels. “Here, I read that ice is good to help with healing.” He passes over the items with a slight blush covering his face, their hands lightly grazing during it. They both turn bright red, but neither mention it. It's not that big of a deal, considering that they've held hands before—they just did a few hours earlier! But now, it just feels different .

Buck goes to place the ice packs under his shirt, and Eddie turns around to give him some semblance of privacy.

“So, we never did establish where you're going to sleep.” Buck mentions as Eddie turns and faces him again.

“Oh, I thought it was kind of obvious…” Eddie trails off with a blush once again appearing on his face. “I thought I'd stay here with you. I don't want to be too far away from you in case you need something or something happens.”

Buck begins to choke up, enamoured by his thoughtfulness. However, Eddie doesn't realize what is happening and immediately assumes something is wrong.

“Nothing's wrong, Eds. They're happy tears. I'm just so lucky to have a friend like you.” Buck internally grimaces at ‘friend’. Obviously they're friends, but it still hurts when in his heart he wishes for something more.

Eddie smiles softly and heads over to sit on the other side of the bed. He places a gentle hand over Buck's, and butterflies begin to flutter in his stomach. He doesn't give any indication to Eddie, though.

“Hey, why don't you rest for a little bit longer, and I'll wake you up when Maddie gets here with Chris and Jee-Yun.” He suggests softly.

“Will you stay with me?” Buck asks, very hesitant.

Eddie's eyes widen, but he nods and moves to get comfortable.

They stay like that for a while, lying down with their hands still touching, and they begin to drift off into a comfortable sleep.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Eddie wakes up to knocking on his door. He carefully untangles himself from Buck's grasp and heads to the door. He's just about to open the door when he realizes that he hadn't put a shirt on—he had taken it off a few minutes after Buck had fallen asleep, overheating but not wanting to disturb him.

He spots a hoodie on the back of the couch and throws it on before opening the door.

“Hey, Maddie, come on in.” Eddie says.

“Hey! Chris is on his way, Jee wanted to walk with him up to the house.” Maddie says with a bright smile. “How's Buck doing?”

“He's good. He's just sleeping right now. Do you want me to wake him up?” Eddie replies.

“Oh no, that's okay. I'll let him get his rest. Is it alright if Jee and I stay here until he wakes up, though?”

Eddie's face lights up. “Of course! As long as I can give my favourite girl some ice cream.” He jokes.

Maddie laughs at that. “She would love some. And so would Jee.” She teases with a wink. Eddie chuckles and turns to face the door once again as Chris and Jee-Yun cross the threshold.

“There's my favourite girl!” Eddie calls as Jee-Yun runs into his arms and envelops her in a hug.

“Hi Uncle Eddie.” She says with a wide smile that's just like her mom's. Eddie blushes at ‘Uncle’. That's new. He thinks. He pushes it from his mind at that moment, though, and picks her up to head to the kitchen, Maddie and Chris trailing behind.

He whips around when he hears a choked sound come from behind him. He makes eye contact with Maddie, who quickly diverts her eyes. He raises an eyebrow but is met with an innocent smile, so he lets it go and returns to grabbing the ice cream for Jee-Yun.

He dishes the bowls out—because of course he had to get some for everybody —and heads in the direction of his room to check on Buck.

It's only when he passes the bathroom and catches a glimpse in the mirror that he realizes he had been wearing Buck's hoodie the entire time. He stops in his tracks and debates changing it before Buck sees, not wanting to embarrass himself. He eventually just chooses to ignore it when he hears movement coming from inside the room. He opens the door to see Buck trying to stand up on his own.

“Woah woah woah. What are you doing?” He asks, concern lacing his voice.

“I heard Maddie and wanted to come say hi.” Buck says embarrassedly.

Eddie heads over to Buck's side of the bed and begins to help him stand, despite Buck's protests that he can do it himself. They head to the dining room where the three currently sit.

“Uncle Buck!” Jee-Yun cries out and comes running towards Buck. She runs into his legs and he lets out an “Oof!”

“Careful Jee,” Maddie warns. “Uncle Buck just had a big surgery, so we have to be careful and gentle with him. Remember what we talked about last night?”

Jee-Yun nods and says an apology to Buck.

“Hey, it's okay! I get excited to see you, too!” Buck says as he ruffles her hair. She lets out a giggle at that, making him smile as well.

She grabs her hand and leads him over to sit in the chair beside hers. Buck dutifully sits down, careful not to hurt himself.

“Do you want some ice cream too, Uncle Buck?” Jee-Yun asks sweetly.

“Oh, I'm okay. Thanks, Jee.” He replies.

“So, how are you feeling?” Maddie questions, changing the subject.

Buck attempts to shrug again, wincing as Eddie instinctively reaches out to him to make sure he's okay. He pats Eddie's hand on his arm and then leaves his hand resting there. He resumes his conversation with Maddie—well, more like Maddie's interrogation—as Eddie's mind just completely blanks. He can't seem to form a single thought with Buck's hand on his.

He makes a mental note to book an emergency appointment with Frank.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Maddie takes it as a sign to leave when Jee-Yun starts to yawn and rub her eyes. She packs up the few things they brought with them, picks her up, and says her goodbyes, Jee-Yun tiredly waving as her eyes flutter closed.

Eddie turns to look back at his two boys and sees them giggling about something. He smiles and watches them for a second, admiring the family he has built. They have built.

 ִֶָ 𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆★⋆  ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ

Later that night, they’re sitting on the couch watching a movie when Chris brings it up.

“So… is something going on between you guys?”

Buck and Eddie look at each other from the opposite ends of the couch, confused looks on their faces.

“What’re you talking about, bud?” Eddie asks cautiously.

“Well,” Chris begins. “For one, you’re wearing Buck’s hoodie. Second, you guys are sharing a bed. Is there something you’re not telling me?” He eyes the two.

Eddie’s face goes red, and Buck ducks his head out of view. Chris just sighs and says, “Forget it. You’ll tell me when you’re ready. I hope…”

He turns his attention back to the movie, leaving the two of them in shock and not able to focus. Both of them thinking the same thing, but neither knew it.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

The movie ends as quiet snores elicit from the two boys beside Eddie. He moves to pick Chris up and take him to his room to tuck him into bed. He takes off his glasses and sets them on the nightstand beside his bed, and then presses a gentle kiss onto his forehead.

Eddie returns to the living room to Buck wiping his eyes groggily. “Hey.” He says weakly.

“Hi.” Eddie replies. He sits down next to Buck, and he immediately leans over to lay on Eddie’s shoulder. He wraps his arm around Buck as he leans in closer. They stay like that for a few minutes, soaking up the warmth emanating off of each other. Eventually, they start to fall asleep again, so they decide to head to bed.

Buck climbs into bed as Eddie runs around the house, making sure the doors are locked and everything is turned off. He enters his room just as Buck is getting settled onto his mountain of pillows. He gets under the blanket and turns to lay on his side to face Buck.

“So… do you wanna talk about it?” Eddie asks shyly.

“I don’t know. I kind of just want to sleep right now. Can we talk about it in the morning?” Buck blushes.

“Y-yeah, of course.” Eddie stutters out. “Good night, Buck.”

“Good night, Eddie.”

They both fall asleep wondering the same thing, Was Chris right? Is something different between us?

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

At some point throughout the night, Buck wakes up and notices that he’s alone. “Eddie?” He calls out, careful not to wake up Chris.

Eddie comes walking in a couple of seconds later, coffee in hand. “Hey, sorry, did I wake you?”

Buck shakes his head. “No, I just woke up and realized you weren’t here. Are you okay?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” He admits. “All I can think about is what Christopher said earlier.”

He moves to sit on the edge of the bed beside Buck’s legs. “I think we need to talk.”

Buck starts to panic, thinking the worst. Did I do something wrong? Is he kicking me out?

“Before you panic, it’s not bad.” Eddie says.

“Too late for that.” Buck says with a weak laugh.

Eddie sighs and moves closer to him. He sets his coffee on the nightstand and places a gentle hand on Buck’s leg, looking him directly in the eyes.

“If at any point throughout this conversation you feel uncomfortable, please let me know.” Buck nods and Eddie continues, eyes down to his lap.

“Over the past couple of days, I’ve realized that maybe I’m not exactly who I think I am. I don’t feel like myself most of the time, and get stuck in my thoughts more than I’d like to admit…” He trails off, and Buck rests his hand on top of his. Eddie looks up with tears in his eyes.

“I’ve been talking to Frank about this for a little while, about these feelings, and I’ve come to realize that… I’m gay. And the reason I’ve realized all of this about myself,” He takes a deep breath. “Was because of you.”

Buck chokes up, and a single tear falls down his face. “M-me?” He asks in disbelief.

“Yes, you .” Eddie says as he wipes the tear from Buck’s face. “Buck… Evan… I’m in love with you.”

Buck goes still, definitely not expecting him to say that. “What, uh, what do you mean you’re in love with me?”

“I mean that you’re it for me. You’re the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

Buck smiles with tears threatening to fall, but he doesn’t let them. “I love you too, Eds.”

Eddie’s face lights up, and it just might be the best thing Buck has ever seen.

“You do?” He asks. “You really do? You’re not just saying that because I did, right?”

Buck takes Eddie’s other hand in his and holds them tight. “Eddie, I’m in love with you too. I’ve been trying to work up the nerve to tell you for, like, a month.” He says with an embarrassed laugh. Eddie laughs, and he moves closer once again.

“Can I hug you?” He asks. “I’ll be careful, I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“Of course, you could never hurt me, Eds.” Eddie leans forward and envelops Buck in a hug, mindful of his chest.

“I love it when you call me that, y’know? I don’t let anyone else call me that. People have tried in the past, but it never felt right. Not until you.” They pull each other closer and hold tight.

After a few minutes, Buck begins to yawn, and Eddie chuckles.

“Let's go to sleep now. We can finish talking in the morning.”

“Good idea.” Buck says through another yawn. Eddie moves back to his side of the bed and crawls under the covers, curling up at Buck’s side. They fall asleep once more, thoughts and worries—and coffee—forgotten.

Chapter Text

Buck wakes up to the smell of French toast and bacon. He’s just about to try and manoeuvre out of the bed when Eddie comes walking through the door, a plate and glass of orange juice in hand.

“Good morning.” He yawns. “You’re bringing me breakfast in bed?”

Eddie blushes at Buck’s smirk and shrugs. “Well, technically it’s brunch, and I wanted to do something nice… shut up.” He directs that at Buck in retaliation to his snickering.

He sets up Buck with his food on a lap desk and runs to grab his own to join Buck. A couple of seconds later, Chris wanders in as well. Eddie and Buck both pretend they don’t see the giant box of chocolates not-so-secretly hidden behind his back.

They eat their brunch—and chocolates—in a comfortable silence, the occasional thing said out loud.

After they’re done eating, Chris takes all the dishes to the kitchen, and Eddie gets up to leave, too, but Buck stops him. “Eds… can you wash my hair for me, please? It’s getting kinda greasy, and it’s bothering me.” He asks shyly.

“Oh, sure, no problem.” Eddie replies.

He helps Buck get out of bed and they head to the bathroom. Buck sits down on the toilet seat while he grabs the no-rinse shampoo from the cupboard and a towel from the shelf. He rubs the shampoo in Buck’s hair, both of them avoiding direct eye contact. When he’s done, he wipes his hair with the towel and then leaves Buck to do whatever he needs to do in the bathroom.

Buck emerges a couple of minutes later and joins Eddie and Chris in the kitchen, where they are currently doing dishes together.

“Thanks so much for the food, you two. You're spoiling me!” Buck says, sidling up behind Eddie and wrapping his arms around his waist. Eddie instinctively leans back in his hold, and they stay like that until they are startled by a fake retching sound.

They turn to face a giggling Christopher, who teasingly asks, “You guys are being gross. I mean, I'm glad you're happy and all, but do you have to be all mushy in front of me?”

Buck and Eddie make eye contact, and they all begin to laugh. They finish the dishes, Buck eventually moving to sit at the table. They're having a nice conversation when Buck's phone begins to ring. He's about to stand up when Eddie stops him, telling him he'll grab it.

He emerges back into the kitchen with the phone in hand, passing it to Buck and rubbing his shoulder as he passes. Buck swipes to answer and presses the phone to his ear.

“Hey, Mads. What's up?” He asks, happy to hear from his sister, yet a bit confused on why she's calling when she usually texts.

“Buck… I hate to just dump this all on you at once, I know you're busy, but you need to know this now.” Maddie worriedly says.

He starts to worry, definitely knowing something's wrong now. “What is it? What's wrong?” He makes eye contact with a confused Eddie. All Buck can do is shake his head and mouth, I don't know .

“There's no easy way to say this.” She sighs. “Our parents are coming to visit.”

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Eddie doesn't think he's ever seen a look on Buck's face quite like the one he has right now. He immediately sits in the chair adjacent to his and grabs Buck's free hand in his.

“What, uh… what do you mean they're coming to visit?” Buck grips Eddie's hand tightly.

“I mean that they're on their way here as we speak. Mom just called me to tell me they'd crossed the border into California. They'll be here by the end of the day. I promise you, Evan, I had no idea, I'm so sorry.”

“It's not your fault, Mads, you probably couldn't have convinced them to stay away anyway, especially now that you have Jee.”

“I know, Evan, but I just wish you didn't have to deal with them anymore. You don't deserve to be treated the way they treat you.”

Buck begins to tear up. “Neither of us do. But we'll be okay—we'll get through it.”

“I love you, Evan.”

“Love you too, Maddie.”

He hangs up the phone, and immediately, tears start to fall. Eddie gets up and crouches beside him, pulling him into a tight hug. He cards his fingers through his hair with one hand while still holding Buck’s with the other. Chris walks over and joins the hug, not understanding what’s happening but still wanting to give his Buck some love and comfort.

They stay like that for a few minutes, no one daring to move. Eventually, though, Eddie starts to cramp up, so he sits back on the chair. Chris leaves the room with a sad smile to Buck, giving them the privacy they need.

“So… do you want to talk about it? Your parents, I mean.” Eddie hesitantly asks.

Buck sighs, knowing the conversation is inevitable. “Do you remember what I told you about my parents after I got the call about my surgery?” Eddie nods, so he continues. “Well, there's more to the story than them just ‘wanting their daughter back’.” He takes a deep breath, needing to take a second before he has to relive the painful memories.

“They were extremely transphobic the entire beginning of my transition—when I was still a teenager. They still are, to be honest, but they've stopped outright saying it, just implying it with gestures and expressions. I'm scared now about what they're going to say when they find out I've had top surgery, and that I have a boyfriend. They're homophobic too, by the way, so double whammy.” He chuckles sadly, Eddie sighs as he continues to rub circles on Buck's hands with his thumbs.

“You don't have to see them if you don't want to, baby. It's your choice. They can't force you to choose.” Eddie consoles.

“‘Baby’?” Buck asks with a teasing grin taking up his face. Eddie blushes, but before he can apologize, Buck grabs his face and says, “I love it. I just wasn't expecting it, that's all.” He presses a soft kiss to Eddie's lips, and Eddie pulls him into a hug. Buck snuggles up against his neck as Eddie plays with his hair, twirling the short, curly strands between his fingers.

A couple of minutes pass before Eddie stands up, bringing Buck with him. He brings them to the living room—where Chris currently is—to relax and possibly watch a documentary, something that might calm Buck down.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

A few hours later, after the movie is done, they're all cuddled up having a nap. Eddie startles awake to the sound of knocking on the door, and so he carefully removes himself from Buck's hold to answer it. He peeks through the peephole and is met with the sight of two people he hasn't seen in almost a year.

“Sophia? Adriana?” He asks incredulously as he whips open the door and pulls them into a hug. “What are you two doing here?”

“We wanted to surprise you!” Sophia says with a smile.

“Yeah, we missed you, big bro.” Adriana adds.

They all laugh and hold each other tighter before Eddie steps back and invites them in. He leads them to the dining room and they sit at the table. They take a second to admire the two boys passed out on the couch before beginning their conversation.

“So, why are you guys here? Not that I'm upset you're here—I'm very happy! I'm just surprised.” Eddie begins.

“Mom and dad have been bugging the hell out of us to get into relationships ever since you two came down and you couldn't shut up about a certain someone who you wouldn't name.” Adriana says with a knowing look. “I'm guessing that the certain someone is the sleeping man on your couch, cuddling your son?”

Eddie blushes and looks down to his lap.

“Hey, it's okay. We still love you no matter what.” Sophia says, both of them reaching across the table to each take one of his hands.

Eddie chuckles and looks up to face them. “Well, I guess now's as good a time as ever… I'm gay, and Buck and I are in love.”

They exchange bright smiles, and the girls get up to envelop Eddie in a hug. “We're so proud of you.” Sophia says.

After they break apart, Adriana loudly whispers to Sophia, “You owe me 20 bucks!”

“Wha— you bet on me?!” Eddie asks, a bit offended.

“Technically, yes. We bet on both you being some flavour of queer, and that the person you wouldn't shut up about was Buck. The latter is more recent, though.” Sophia admits with a wink.

Eddie chuckles, embarrassed at being caught. “Okay, that's fair.”

“So… tell us more! Our big brother is finally in a happy relationship and we want to know all about it!” She exclaims as they both sit again.

“Yeah! What's he like as a boyfriend? We already know how he was as a friend, thanks to you talking about him all the time.” Adriana says, rolling her eyes.

“Well, we've only been dating since last night—” Eddie begins to say but is cut off by both of his sisters yelling, “What?!”

They slap their hands over their mouths and glance at Buck and Chris to make sure they didn’t wake them up. “What do you mean, you've only been dating since last night?” Adriana asks in a hushed tone.

Eddie blushes and shrugs his shoulders.

“Edmundo!” Sophia scolds, then tuts in disapproval.

“Oh, go easy on him, Soph.” Adriana says. “He can’t help it that his head was so far up his own behind for so many years.”

“Okay, at this point, you guys are just bullying me.” Eddie groans. The two laugh in return.

“It’s our love language.” Sophia smirks.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

The siblings continue to talk and laugh for a while until Buck wakes up and quietly wanders into the dining room.

“Hey there, sleepyhead.” Eddie greets, a fond look on his face. Buck wanders over to Eddie and sits himself down on Eddie’s lap.

“Uh, we’re here too, you know.” Adriana says.

“I know, I heard you talking.” Buck says with a soft smile while cuddling into Eddie.

Eddie chuckles and starts to rub his back. “How’d you sleep?” He asks kindly.

Buck shrugs, and Eddie takes this as a sign to leave it be.

“I think we’re gonna head out soon.” Sophia says. “The hotel we’re staying at has a stupid curfew.”

“Oh, that sucks. You haven’t even gotten to see Chris yet.” Eddie frowns.

“It’s okay, we’ll be back tomorrow in the afternoon and we can spend the whole evening with you guys.” She smiles. “If… that’s okay?”

“Of course it’s okay! We love having you guys here.” Eddie replies.

Sophia and Adriana get up to leave and each press a kiss on Christopher’s head before they head out the door.

“See you tomorrow!” Adriana quietly calls out before the door closes behind them.

“Curfew isn’t for another hour.” She says to Sophia once they’re in the car.

“I know, but I could tell they needed to talk.” She shrugs.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

“So how did you sleep? Honestly.” Eddie gently asks after they’ve left. “Are you still thinking about your parents?”

Buck nods sadly and cuddles more into Eddie, who in turn wraps his arms tighter around him.

“I really am so scared, Eds. What if they try to turn Maddie and Jee-Yun against me?” He asks, tears beginning to fall from his eyes.

“Hey, hey.” Eddie soothes, carding his fingers through Buck’s hair. “Maddie would never let that happen, okay? She loves you too much for anything they might say to change that.”

“I know, I’m being irrational. I just thought that once I’d left, I’d never have to see them again.”

“And you don’t . Nobody is forcing you to see them. You get to choose for yourself.”

Buck takes a deep breath and allows Eddie to wipe his tears away.

“Now come on, we’ve gotta wake Chris up for dinner soon.” Eddie says. Buck nods and stands up, the two of them heading over to wake the still-sleeping boy.

 ִֶָ 𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆★⋆  ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ

“Chris, ¡rápido! You're going to be late for school!” Eddie calls out. He earns a tired groan in response.

“And I thought we had a few more years before the grumpy teenager phase.” Buck jokes.

“Ha, yeah, me too.” He leans against Buck, who is currently against the counter waiting for the coffee to be done.

He laughs when Buck groans, “Ugh, I can't wait til I can have coffee again.”

“Just a few more weeks.” Eddie says as he pecks a kiss onto Buck’s cheek.

Chris wanders into the room and makes a gagging sound when he sees the kiss. “You guys are so gross.”

“We’ve already established that you think that, bud.” Eddie chuckles.

The coffee maker beeps, signalling that it’s done. Buck pours some into a travel mug for Eddie and hands it to him on his way out the door.

“ Gracias, mi amor. ” Eddie says as he closes the door behind him.

Buck wanders back into the kitchen, deciding to make himself a fruit salad and watch something on TV while he waits for Eddie to return.

There’s a knock on the door a little while later, and Buck pads across the room to the door, laughing when he opens it.

“Did you forget something—” He begins, but is cut off when he comes face to face with the two people he despises most in the world.

“Hello Evangeline.” His mother greets with a disappointed look on her face.

“Mom, Dad, what are you two doing here?” Buck asks as he takes a deep breath.

“Howard mentioned that you have had a ‘major surgery’ and we wanted to see what stupid mistake you’ve made now.” His mother says.

“First of all,” He starts. “It wasn’t stupid . Second, it’s not any of your business.”

“Of course it’s our business.” His father says sternly. “You are our daughter.”

Buck snaps. “I’m not your daughter!”

At that moment, Eddie walks up the pathway, pushing past Buck’s parents in order to get to his side.

“What’s going on here?” He asks, anger flashing across his face.

“And who are you ?” His father asks.

“I’m Buck’s partner, and you are at my house.” Eddie snaps. He wraps his arm around Buck’s waist and pulls him in close. “If you are going to continue to be disrespectful to your son , then I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

His mother scoffs. “You’re still having people call you that? It’s not your name! We named you Evangeline for a reason and—”

“That’s enough!” Eddie yells, cutting her ranting off.

His parents stand there in shock, anger crossing their faces.

“I want you both off of my property. Now .”

They sigh angrily and turn to leave.

“And neither of you are ever welcome back here, do you understand me?”

Eddie slams the door and pulls Buck into a bone crushing hug.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” Eddie says, carding his fingers through the other’s hair with one hand and rubbing his back with the other.

He leads them to the couch and they stay there for a while, Buck eventually tiring himself out from crying and falling asleep on Eddie.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Buck wakes up an hour later, wondering where Eddie had gone off to. His question is answered a few seconds later when he hears quiet singing coming from the kitchen. He carefully lifts himself off of the couch and heads to the source of the noise.

“ I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth. ” Eddie sings softly as he makes sandwiches. “ But if it's true, it's you, it's you they add up to. ”

He turns to see Buck standing in the entryway and directs the last lines of the song at him. “ I'm in love with you, and all your little things. ”

“Really? One Direction?” Buck asks teasingly.

“Oh, please. As if I haven’t heard you singing along before.” Eddie jokes.

“Alright, alright, you caught me.” He walks over to Eddie and hugs him.

“Have you taken your pain meds today?” Eddie asks, helpfully avoiding the subject.

Buck nods in response. “Took ‘em this morning while you were in the shower.”

Eddie takes a deep breath, and Buck takes this as an opportunity to bring up what had happened earlier. “So… are we going to talk about it?”

“I was waiting for you to bring it up.” Eddie replies.

Buck sighs sadly. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“Hey— no!” Eddie says as he turns around in Buck’s hold. “You don’t have to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? They should be the ones to apologize.”

“Ha.” Buck laughs sadly. “Yeah, like that’s ever gonna happen.”

Eddie places his hands on either side of Buck’s face and stands on his tiptoes to give him a kiss on his birthmark. “It’d be easier to kiss you if you leaned down.” He jokes, earning a chuckle from the other man.

Buck leans down and Eddie captures his lips in a gentle kiss. They pull away and rest their foreheads together when they can’t stop themselves from laughing.

“You’re perfect, you know that?” Eddie says, looking into Buck’s deep blue eyes.

“Nobody’s perfect.” Buck states as he begins to blush.

“Yeah… but you’re pretty damn close.”

Buck chuckles and pulls him in for another kiss.

 ִֶָ 𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆★⋆  ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ

“Hey, Eds, come check this out!” Buck calls, looking up from his phone, where he had been watching TikToks for a while.

Eddie wanders into the bedroom, laundry basket on his hip. He sets in down on the floor at the end of the bed before climbing in beside Buck.

“Alright, what am I looking at?” He asks.

Buck giggles and hands over his phone.

“ When I said I wanted to get top surgery and someone said I should sell pics of them to pay the surgery since they’re limited edition. ” He reads aloud to a cackling Buck.

“Oh, I wish I would have done that.” Buck sighs. “That’s so iconic.”

Eddie laughs and pats him on the thigh. “Okay, I gotta get going soon to pick Chris up from school. Are you coming?”

Buck nods frantically and manoeuvres out of bed, throwing on the first shirt he finds—which just happens to be Eddie’s. Neither of them notice, though.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

They’re sitting in the truck in the school parking lot waiting for the bell to ring when Buck’s phone starts to vibrate in his pocket.

“It’s Maddie.” Buck says to Eddie as he swipes to answer the call.

“ Hey Evan. ” He hears faintly over the phone.

“Hi Mads, what’s wrong? Why do you sound upset?” Buck asks, concerned.

Sniffles sound through the speaker. “ Mom and Dad just told me about what happened… ”

Buck stiffens. “Oh?” He asks nervously.

“ I am so, so sorry. ” She apologizes. “ As soon as they stopped talking, I stood up and kicked them out. I told them they’re not allowed here any more. ”

“What about Jee? They’re her grandparents.”

Maddie scoffs sadly. “ To hell with that. We don’t need their negativity in our lives. Plus, we have Mr and Mrs Lee. They’re more grandparents to her than ours ever were. ”

“I appreciate you doing that, Maddie.” Buck sniffles, earning a concerned look from Eddie, which he calms with a hand in his. “I blocked them on everything the first chance I got.”

Maddie laughs. “ Hey, are you guys busy tonight? We should get together and have a family dinner. ” She asks.

“Well, we are gonna spend the afternoon with Eddie’s sisters—they’re up visiting from Texas—but you guys are welcome to join us!”

“ Sounds good! We’ll be over for five. Does that work? ”

“Yeah that’s fine. See you then. Love you, Maddie.”

“ I love you too, Evan. ”

Buck hangs up the call with a soft smile on his face.

“What’s going on?” Eddie asks.

“Maddie, Chim, and Jee are gonna join us for the evening with your sisters. We can have one big family dinner!” Buck smiles widely.

“Alright! That’s awesome.” Eddie grins as he brings Buck’s hand up to kiss it.

The school bell rings, interrupting their moment. They get out of the truck and wander up to the pickup area to wait for Chris.

“Dad! Buck!” Chris yells when he sees them, going as fast as his legs and crutches will allow him.

“Oh, hey buddy.” Eddie groans as he crashes into him. “Did you have a good day?”

Chris lets go of Eddie and Buck brings him in for a big hug. “I had an amazing day, Dad.” He corrects with his tweenager sass. Chris lets go of Buck, but only to grab something from his backpack. “Here, Buck, I made this for you in art class today.”

He hands him a white paper card that reads, ‘ so happy for your loss! ’ with a rainbow in the corner. Buck chuckles and opens it to read what’s inside.

It says, ‘ Dear Buck, congrats on your dad bod! Love, Christopher ’ with hearts in the trans flag colours underneath of it.

Buck starts to laugh hysterically, handing the card over for Eddie to read.

“Oh, thank you, Chris.” He says, pulling him in for another hug.

“Do you like it?” He asks. “My friend Jaime helped me come up with that. He’s trans too.”

“I love it. And tell your friend Jaime that I say he has a great sense of humour.”

“I will!” Chris nods happily.

The two head back to the truck while Eddie trails behind a bit, admiring his family.

“Excuse me,” A woman says, pulling Eddie out of his thoughts. “I’m Jaime’s mom, Elizabeth. I just wanted to say that you two are doing an amazing job at raising your son. Christopher was the first student in Jaime’s class to start using his new name and pronouns, and we are both so grateful.”

Eddie blushes. “Uh, th—thank you. And you are also doing an amazing job, Chris talks nonstop about his new best friend.”

Elizabeth smiles and hands over a small slip of paper. “Here, my number. Jaime has mentioned wanting to hang out with Christopher outside of school, so maybe we could set up some play dates?”

“Yeah, of course!” Eddie grins. “We have to get going, but it was nice meeting you!”

“You as well!”

He walks back to the truck with a pep in his step.

“Who was that?” Buck asks once he’s seated.

“That was Jaime’s mom, she said Jaime wants to have a play date with Chris,” He turns around to face his son. “What do you think, bud?”

“They’re not play dates, Dad, they’re hangouts .” Chris corrects again, earning laughs from the two.

“Alright then, let’s head home. We’re spending the evening with your Tías .” Eddie says as he smiles.

“And Maddie, Chimney, and Jee-Yun are coming for dinner, too!” Buck adds.

Chris cheers and they begin their drive home.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Chris jumps out of the truck as soon as they pull in the driveway, eager to get things ready for dinner.

Eddie chuckles as he steps down and walks to the house, but stops in his tracks when he notices Buck isn’t following.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asks as he walks up to Buck, taking his hands in his own.

Buck shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just nervous. Nervous that your sisters won’t actually like me when they get to know me, or that they’ll find something out I didn’t want them to.”

Eddie smiles sadly. “There’s nothing to be nervous about, they’re going to love you, okay? Just like I do.”

Buck nods, then lays his head down to rest on Eddie’s shoulder. They stand there, listening to each other breathing, until an annoyed sigh can be heard from the front door.

“Come on . We have to get everything ready!” Chris pouts, exasperated.

“I think someone’s excited.” Eddie remarks. The two men chuckle and walk into the house, hand in hand.

Once everything is set up, they begin to get the food ready. Chris had suggested that they have Rotini noodles, as they’re Buck’s favourite.

Buck sits at the table while Eddie and Chris cook the noodles, watching and admiring their teamwork.

They’re just finishing up when the doorbell rings and Chris runs to answer it.

“It’s Aunt Maddie!” Chris yells, causing Buck to blush at him calling her ‘aunt’.

“Hey Chris.” Maddie says as she leans down to hug him.

“Where’s Jee-Yun?” Chris asks, looking around her.

Maddie laughs. “She fell asleep in the car, so Howie is waking her up. You can go help if you want.” She says, quickly making eye contact with Eddie for confirmation.

Buck sneaks up behind Eddie where he had been leaning against the wall and rubs his back as he passes him to see his sister. He has to lean down a bit to give her a hug, but it never bothers him. He misses when he was younger and she was the one that had to lean down.

Maddie shakes him out of his thoughts when she kisses him on the top of his head and ruffles his hair, earning a small giggle in return.

Chimney, Jee-Yun, and Chris enter a second later, with Jee holding a small white container.

“Oh, hi Jee!” Buck greets as she runs up to him and leans against his leg. “Whatcha got there?”

She smiles up at him and hands him the container. He’s about to open it, but Maddie stops him.

“It’s for dessert.” She says ominously.

“Okay?” He laughs.

The grown-ups head to the kitchen while Chris and Jee-Yun sit on the couch, whispering to each other and laughing.

Sophia and Adriana arrive a little while later, letting themselves into the house.

“We're here!” Sophia calls.

“And we brought presents!” Adriana adds.

Jee-Yun squeals as Adriana hands her a present, immediately opening it. She jumps up and down when she sees it’s an apron. Chris bends down to read her what it says on the front; Uncle Buck’s sous-chef .

She giggles and runs to Buck to show him while Chris opens his own gift. It’s a Jurassic Park LEGO set—Chris’ latest obsession. He says his thanks, then scurries off to his room to put it away for later.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

They’re finishing up their dinner an hour later and are waiting at the table for Maddie to return with the mysterious dessert.

She walks in and sets it down in front of Buck, confusing him. He looks around and everyone else seems to be… smiling?

Maddie smiles and nudges his shoulder, encouraging him to open it.

Buck lifts the lid hesitantly and gasps when he sees what it is.

“It's a gender reveal cake.” He says with tears in his eyes.

Maddie smiles and hugs him from behind. “That's right.”

“It’s just like the one you made me when I came out to you as a teenager.” He cries.

Maddie hugs him tighter and buries her face into his hair.

“We love you, Evan. So much.” She says.

Eddie takes Buck’s hand in his and brings it up to kiss the back of it. “ All of us.”

Buck smiles and wipes away his tears. “Okay, enough crying. Let’s eat the cake.”

Everyone laughs and quiet conversations begin throughout the room.

Buck looks around the table at his family. The people that he loves the most in the world and that love him back just as much. He is so grateful for them all.

Chapter Text