Work Text:
Buck walks into the fire station. He stares in awe at the two fire trucks as he walks between them. Everything here is so shiny and new.
He’s not certain where he’s supposed to go now though, he hasn’t seen anyone else around yet. When he gets past the area where the trucks are parked he sees a locker room in one corner and a gym in the other. Still no one is around.
He hears a sharp laugh come from upstairs. Ah, that must be where everyone is. He starts up the stairs and as he reaches the top he sees a nice kitchen and a big table filled with people.
As he comes closer, multiple people turn to look at him. “Um hi. I’m Evan Buckley, new recruit. I was told to report to Captain Nash.” He says nervously, looking around at his future teammates.
The others look around at each other. “You know a Captain Nash?” The guy at the head of the table asks the rest. They all shake their heads, looking confused. Buck feels a surge of panic and embarrassment flare up in his chest.
The man turns back to him, looking serious. Until he smiles and says, “Take a seat Evan.” Buck doesn’t think he’s ever felt a stronger sense of relief. Well, that’s not quite true. He feels even more relief than this whenever he hears from Eddie. He shakes himself out of his thoughts, not wanting to go down that specific train of thinking at this time. “I’m Bobby Nash. Nice to meet you Evan.”
“Uh-um Buck, everyone just calls me Buck.” He says with a smile, sitting down in the seat next to Captain Nash.
“Welcome to the 118 Buck.” The Captain says.
“Want some food?” The man sitting across from Buck says, pointing to a large bowl of spaghetti in the middle of the table.
“Uh yeah, sure.” The woman next to Buck grabs a plate and piles on some food for him. He smiles and thanks her.
“I’m Henrietta, you can call me Hen though. And that’s Howie, but we call him Chimney.” She points at the man across from him. He smiles and nods at both of them, then looks down at the delicious plate of food.
“Is it always like this?” Buck asks, hoping that this friendly atmosphere is normal around here. He thinks he might actually feel comfortable here if it is.
He gets an answer and a smile from Hen. “Always.”
Buck looks around the table one more time at the people smiling and acting like a family. He smiles as well.
“I think I’m in the right place.”
~~~
“So Buck, got a girl back home?” Chimney asks him out of the blue one day. Buck tenses up at the question.
He’s not sure if he wants to tell his new team about Eddie. It’s not like he doesn’t want people to know he has a boyfriend. He loves Eddie.
But there are certain questions that come up whenever he tells someone he has a significant other currently stationed across the world. Questions like: how do you deal with it, don’t you miss him, why bother when you never see him, don’t you get bored without him, why would he leave you?
Plus a whole other set of questions that come when he mentions they have a kid. How does the kid deal with it, why aren’t you married if you have a kid, how could he do that to his kid, how can you take care of him by yourself?
All questions that he doesn’t want to answer. And questions that make him feel even more insecure than he already is. Of course he and Chris miss Eddie, but it’s not Eddie’s fault he can’t be around. And he would never blame Eddie or be upset with him over his decision to join the army.
Back to Chimney’s question though. He doesn’t want to lie to him, but he also wants to avoid the prodding questions for as long as he can. So Buck simply replies with a small, “No.” And leaves it at that.
“Okayyy. Want to elaborate?” Buck sighs and just shakes his head. He tries to put all his focus on cleaning the kitchen counters. Chimney just sighs in response and turns from where he was leaning against the island to walk over to Hen.
Buck feels a little guilty about being so brusque towards him. It’s just a touchy subject. He really does want to be friends with his teammates, especially Hen and Chim, they seem like really nice people. He just... doesn’t know how to not mention his very serious boyfriend and kid.
So he decides to ask instead, to take the focus off himself as much as he can. “What about you? Got anyone special?” He directs it at Hen too, wanting to learn more about both of them.
Hen speaks up first. “I’ve got a wife, Karen. And my baby Denny.” Buck lights up at that. He hadn’t acknowledged it, but he was a little nervous about the fact he had a boyfriend. Especially when Chim only asked about the possibility of a woman at home. But now that he saw how open Hen was about having a wife, he felt a little better.
“You’ve got a kid? I love kids!” He says quietly, thinking about Christopher who’s with Carla right now.
“You wanna see him? I wouldn’t want to bore you, but I could talk about my baby for hours.” She has a soft smile on her face and Buck can see how much she adores her little family.
“No please, tell me about him. And your wife, I’d love to hear all about your family.” He smiles and listens intently as she regales him stories and shows him pictures of all of them. Chimney sits nearby also listening, though he’s probably heard all of this before.
He wants to ask Chimney if he has anyone, but they’re interrupted by the alarm going off. They all get up and rush down the stairs, hopping into the trucks and setting off towards the emergency.
~~~
“Hey Buck, that girl over there seems to be very interested in you.” Hen says to him with a wink. He looks over at the bar and sees that there is indeed a woman staring at him intently. To be frank, it makes him a little uncomfortable.
What also makes him uncomfortable is trying to figure out how to tell Hen he’s not interested. Most people think someone of his age, build, and career would be pulling girls left and right. Who knows, maybe he would be too if he hadn’t already met the love of his life.
He just sighs and turns back to Hen, and Chim who was now listening in. “Not interested.” He says curtly. He leaves it at that and hopes they will too.
They don’t. “Aw why not Buck, not your type?” Chim cuts in.
Buck briefly wonders if they can see how visibly uncomfortable and tense he’s gotten. “Not exactly.” He really doesn’t want to elaborate. He’s been working at the 118 for a few weeks now, and he’s doing pretty good at avoiding the topic of dating so far.
But of course going out for drinks is likely to bring up the topic. “Oh come on, we haven’t heard anything about your dating life and you never flirt back with any girls.”
“I’m just... I’m a private guy okay? I like to keep my private and work lives separate.” He can only hope this will finally satisfy them.
“Our work lives practically are our private lives. We’re a family. Come on Buck, share all your dirty secrets.” Chimney wiggles his eyebrows at Buck.
Buck seriously contemplates just coming clean about Eddie and Christopher. Maybe if he was a few more drinks in he would. “I just don’t like talking about it okay?” He tries to sound as pleading as possible. He can see that Chim wants to say something else but then Hen’s eyes soften and she elbows Chim. He doesn’t say anything.
Thank god, he really wasn’t ready for all the questions.
They continue on with their night with no more mentions of dating—he silently thanks Hen for that—and when it reaches ten he tells them he has to leave.
“What? It’s so early though, Chim and I usually stay out until at least 11.” Hen complains.
“What can I say, I like to get my full 8 hours.” He quickly excuses. He doesn’t really, in fact he rarely gets more than 5 or 6 hours of sleep. He just needs to get home to Chris and relieve Carla to let her get home to her own family.
He passes more girls and even a couple guys that check him out but ignores them all. He turns and waves to Hen and Chim and leaves the bar.
~~~
Buck reaches for his phone as it rings loudly through his room. He notices the time and becomes even more confused. Who was calling him at midnight? There was no Caller ID.
He suddenly felt a jolt of panic and he sat straight up in bed. Could something have happened to Eddie? Oh god, oh god, oh god. Breathe Buck. No need to talk yourself into a panic attack over possibly nothing. He takes a deep breath and answers the call.
“Hello?” The woman’s voice is familiar.
It doesn’t sound like anyone official, so his breathing starts to even out.
“Um, hi? Who is this?” He asks. Who could possibly be calling him so late at night?
“Oh, sorry. This is Abby Clarke.” Buck thinks to himself, the name sounds somewhat familiar. “I was the 9-1-1 operator on the phone during that home invasion call last week?”
“Ohhh! Yeah, hi.” He remembers now, she was a big help in getting those men arrested and saving that little girl. “Um thanks for the help with that by the way. But um, why are you calling? And why so late?”
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Did I wake you? I just got off shift, I didn’t even think.” She rambles.
“No worries, I got home about an hour ago. Long shift, so I wasn’t asleep.” It had been a long shift indeed. He’d had his first loss today. Which was tough, and had him missing the comfort Eddie usually brought him. He hadn’t even been able to cuddle Chris to lift his spirits since he had been asleep already when he arrived home.
“Well, that’s a relief. I actually wanted to ask if you were okay?” Buck’s confusion grows again at that. “Sorry if this is stepping over a line, but I saw you on the news today and you seemed pretty upset.”
Well, that was sort of... nice? It’s a little strange that this random dispatcher is concerned about him but it's also comforting to be asked about his well-being. “Oh, that. Yeah, it was tough. But we’ve all seen worse out there.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Buck forces a laugh. The conversation is a little awkward. He doesn’t know this woman, he doesn’t really know what to say.
The stilted conversation continues a little longer, and he’s trying to be friendly but he can tell this woman is trying to flirt with him. At first they were just getting to know each other and he hoped he could maybe make another friend.
But then Abby asks, “Do you want to maybe go out for dinner one night?” That completely catches Buck off guard.
He splutters a bit, but he refuses to let this go on any longer. “Um, sorry but I have a boyfriend. And frankly, I think you may be a bit too old for me.”
The silence that follows is entirely too awkward for Buck to endure.
Abby suddenly breaks the silence. “Oh god. I’m so sorry! This is embarrassing.” Buck feels a little bad for her, and kind of guilty about the age comment. But hey it’s true, she’s like 20 years older than him.
“Don’t be, but um. I should go. I have a shift in the morning.” He doesn’t. “But thank you for the conversation.”
There’s another few seconds of awkward silence, both trying to figure out how to say goodbye. Abby hangs up without a word.
Buck falls back onto the pillow with a groan. He hopes he never has to see this woman again.
He rolls over onto the other side of the bed and hugs Eddie‘s pillow to his chest. God does he miss his boyfriend.
~~~
It’s been a few months now, and Buck is starting to get a lot more comfortable around his team. He’s extremely grateful to his friend TK for giving him the suggestion of becoming a firefighter. He’s gotten close with Hen and Chim, he’s finally stopped calling Bobby Captain Nash all the time, he’s gotten a lot less shy and he feels like he’s part of a real family.
They’re all having a barbecue at Bobby and Athena's house when the subject of dating comes up again. Surprisingly enough, in these last few months the team has backed off a little bit.
But then Michael and his boyfriend come over to where he’s standing. Buck was watching the kids play around in the garden, thinking about Chris. He wonders what it would be like for his own kid to play with them too. He’s a little lost in thought when Michael clears his throat. Buck whips his head around and apologizes for being so out of it. “Sorry, guess I just spaced out a bit.”
Michael just laughs and gestures to the group of children. “You ever see yourself having kids in the future? I’ve heard how well you get along with them all.”
Buck freezes a little. He’s not quite sure what to say. He already has a kid. A wonderful kid, but no one knows about that. He starts to feel a little guilty for keeping Chris a secret, he’s sure his son would have a great time hanging out with the others. “Uh um, yeah, yeah I want to have a kid or two.” It is a slight truth. Yes, he does already have a kid, but he and Eddie had been talking about having more in the future. He smiled at the thought.
“Well, from what I’ve heard you’ll be an amazing father.” Buck preened at the complement, he did pride himself as being a pretty cool dad to Chris. “You think it’ll happen anytime soon?”
“Um, maybe. I don’t know.” Buck picked at his nails. He hopes that when Eddie gets home—whenever that may be—they’ll finally get married, and maybe talk about more kids.
“Just haven’t found the right person yet huh?” Michael nudges him.
“Uhhh...” Buck really doesn’t know what to say now. Of course he’s found the right person, it’s just that nobody knows that.
He’s saved by Bobby calling out that the food is ready. He breathes out a sigh of relief, but out of the corner of his eye he sees Michael give him a suspicious look.
He ignores it and instead chooses to walk straight to the table full of food, glad he was able to escape that line of questioning.
~~~
“Carla?” Buck asks into the phone. He’s instantly worried. He walks off from the questioning looks he’s getting from Hen and Chim and closes himself in the locker room. He knows Carla would only call him while he’s at work if there’s an emergency, and she’s supposed to be watching Chris right now. “What happened, is Chris okay?”
“Chris is fine Buckaroo, don’t worry.” She soothes him. He sighs in relief.
“Then what’s up? You don’t usually call while I’m working.” It’s not that he doesn’t like hearing from Carla, it’s just a little worrying.
“Well, it is about Chris. He’s fine, but it’s my mother.” She pauses and says something quietly, Buck assumes she’s speaking to Chris. “She’s in the hospital and I really need to be there with her.”
“Of course! Carla I wouldn’t keep you from going. I can figure something out with Chris.” Buck figures now is as good a time as any to introduce Chris to the team. He didn’t think it would happen so suddenly, but he wouldn’t keep Carla from her mother. “Just bring him to the station, I’ll talk to Bobby. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
After saying goodbye he rushes into Bobby’s office. “Cap! Um, could I ask a huge favor?” Bobby already knows about Eddie and Chris, being his boss and all, so at least he doesn’t have to explain the entire situation.
“What do you need Buck?”
“It’s Chris,” Buck sees the worry on Bobby’s face and quickly reassures him, “he’s fine! It’s actually, uh, my caretaker, Carla. She has a family emergency and she’s with Chris right now, but we have no one else to watch him right now so would it be okay if he came here? It’ll just be for a little while until I find someone else but—“
Bobby cuts off his rambling. “Buck. Breathe, it’s okay. Chris can stay here as long as you need him too. He can even stay until the end of your shift if necessary. He’s a part of this family now too.” Buck breathes out a sigh of relief and smiles at Bobby.
“Thank you, Bobby. You have no idea how much this means to me.” Bobby just shakes his head with a warm smile. Buck leaves his office and sits down while he waits for Carla to drop off Chris.
Now he just has to figure out how he’ll explain this to Hen and Chim.
His heels are bouncing and his hands are shaking in his lap. He’s pulled out of his thoughts by a small screech. “Daddy!” Chris makes his way over to him on his crutches slowly. Buck’s face instantly lights up, he can’t help the huge smile that paints his face when he looks at his adorable son.
“Hi buddy!” Buck lifts him up into his arms and spins him around. He was currently in the twentieth hour of a 24 hour shift and he missed his son dearly.
He’s pulled out of his joy by Carla resting a hand on his arm. “I gotta go Buckaroo, I’m sorry to do this to you.”
“No worries Carla, seriously. Family comes first.” He gently sets Chris back down and pulls Carla into a hug. “Go, we’ll be fine here. Be with your mother.” He kisses her on the cheek and sees her wipe a tear from her eye. She smiles, kisses Christopher’s head and walks out of the station.
“So, daddy huh?” Chimney asks from behind Buck. He takes a deep breath and turns around. Chim, Hen, and Bobby are standing behind him watching.
“Uh guys, this is my son.” Buck puts a protective hand on Chris’s back while he reaches an arm out to shake everyone’s hands. Buck grins proudly at his son's manners. Him and Eddie have raised him well.
“So Buckaroo has a son? What’s your name little dude?” Hen crouches down to Christopher’s level.
“Christopher.” He grins. “You can call me Chris though.”
The group of adults chuckle quietly at this.
“Well, I’m Henrietta. You can call me Hen though.” Hen winks at him and he giggles.
“Nice to meet you Hen!” He turns to Chim. “And what’s your name?”
Chimney squats down as well. “Howie, but these guys call me Chimney.” Chris tilts his head in confusion. Buck has to hold in his little coo at how adorable it looked.
“That’s a funny nickname, why do they call you that?” Chris asks, Buck himself was curious about the nickname but had yet to ask.
Chim clears his throat. “How about we tell that story another time.” By the look on Hen’s face, that was clearly code for ‘not a child appropriate story’. Well then.
It’s Bobby’s turn next, and he beats Chris to the punch. “I’m Bobby, no funny nickname for me.” Chris grinned. “How about, we head upstairs and I get started on lunch?”
Chris cheers at the mention of food. Noticing Buck wants a minute alone with Bobby, Hen and Chim go to help Chris up the stairs.
Buck pulls Bobby into a hug. Bobby freezes for a second and then laughs and wraps his own arms around Buck. “Thank you Bobby.”
Bobby pulls away and holds Buck by his shoulders. “I told you, we’re a family. We’ll help you with anything you need. Besides, he’s a great kid. I’m sure he won’t be a bother.” Bobby smiled softly and squeezed his shoulder. “You’re doing a good job with him.”
Before Buck starts to cry he pulls away and with a quick smile, turns and starts to head up the stairs himself. Before he gets too far though, Bobby stops him. “You know, they’re going to have to find out sooner or later.” Buck sighs.
“I know.” He continues up the stairs.
When he gets to the top, he sees Hen and Chim setting Christopher up to play video games. “Hope it’s okay to let him play a few rounds with us Buck!” Hen says once she notices him standing there.
“Of course.” He’s glad Chris already seems to be getting comfortable here, and that the team is being so welcoming. He leans in and whispers to Hen, “Just warning you, he’s a pro at MarioKart.”
He sits on one of the couches while the three sit on the other and play. He watched his son with a soft smile on his face. The picture before him reminds him of their family gaming nights they have whenever Eddie is home. His smile turns slightly sad now. Buck feels a little selfish, but he can’t wait until Eddie is done in the army for good. He would never force him to retire of course, but he misses when he had unlimited time with his boyfriend and son.
He doesn’t even notice when Chimney gets up to start helping Bobby with dinner. Hen must notice Buck needs a little time to himself, because she leaves him be and distracts Chris on her own for a while.
“Foods ready!” Bobby yells from the table. Hen helps Christopher to his chair. Chimney walks over to him. Buck is expecting the question before it even leaves his mouth.
“So, you got a kid huh?” The way he asks implies that he wants to know the whole story. Buck is really at a loss for what to say. Technically Chris isn’t even his son. He’s Eddies, and won’t be legally Bucks too until they finally get married.
“Well, uh. Technically he’s not my kid.” Buck sheepishly explains. Chim looks utterly confused. “I’m just his legal guardian for now.” He’s not sure if that’s the best way to explain it without mentioning Eddie.
But Chimney looks slightly less confused at that. “Oh so you adopted him?”
Buck sighs, “Not yet.” He leaves it at that, it’s close enough to the truth. He will be adopting Chris once him and Eddie get married. Buck hopes that answer satisfies him enough, and walks over to the chair next to Chris.
There’s a big bowl of spaghetti in the middle of the table. Coincidentally, one of Chris’s favourite meals. Bucks reminded of his first day on the job.
He smiles as he looks around the table at Bobby, Chim, Hen, and now his son. He really does feel at home here.
~~~
Four hours later, Buck is almost reluctant to leave. Chris had been having an amazing time at the station with his team.
Bobby had even allowed Chris to come on one of their smaller calls. A fire hydrant had exploded, and Buck held Chris up as he smiled and laughed at it spraying water into the street like a fountain.
He’s been here for months, but seeing Chris hanging out around the station made him finally feel like he was home. Moving from Texas to LA had been nerve wracking, but he’s never felt this comfortable before. Buck just wishes Eddie was here to feel it too.
After saying goodbye to everyone and Chris giving a round of hugs, he buckles Chris into the Jeep and drives them home.
The house always feels a little empty without Eddie. But Buck and Chris always try to find ways to make it more homey when he’s gone. The walls are practically covered in pictures and Chris’s drawings, Buck even has a few of his own paintings up, and they always have music playing so that it’s never quiet.
Buck sets both their bags down in the hallway and turns on the radio. “You wanna help me make dinner buddy?”
Chris cheers in response and Buck laughs at his excitement. Since Eddie is hopeless in the kitchen, Buck took some cooking classes when they first started dating. He likes to say he’s improved a lot. And now Buck is teaching Chris a few things, so at least one Diaz will be useful in the kitchen.
“How do you feel about... make your own pizzas?” Chris nods enthusiastically, so Buck begins to pull all the ingredients out of the fridge.
They have a blast spinning the pizza dough in the air while dancing to the quiet music playing. It’s times like these that Buck feels extremely grateful that even though Eddie isn’t here, he still has Chris with him.
The timer goes off, and Buck pulls their delicious pizza creations out of the oven. Before Buck even sets the plate down, Chris is digging into his pizza with a huge smile.
“Did you have fun today superman?” Bucks asks as he starts on his own pizza.
“Uh huh! I had lots of fun at the station. Chimney and Hen showed me all the cool fire stuff, and I got to play video games with them!” Buck was with him almost the whole time, but he listens intently as Chris rambles on with stories about his day.
Eventually they finish their dinner and move to the living room to watch a movie before he has to put Chris to bed.
Chris insists on watching some new disney movie so they settle down with each other on the couch. By the end of the movie, Buck is laying across the couch with Chris asleep on top of his chest. He switches off the TV and picks up Chris as gently as he can, trying not to jostle him.
They get all the way to Chris’s room when he wakes up. “Bucky?” He says sleepily.
“Yeah bud?” Buck lays him down on his bed and tucks him under the covers.
“When’s daddy coming back?” Buck closes his eyes and takes a breath. He never knows the right thing to say when Chris asks him a that. He doesn’t even know when exactly Eddie will be home.
“Soon superman, I promise.” Buck knows he shouldn’t make promises like that, but he also just wants to comfort his son.
“I miss him, daddy.” Buck can feel his heart break in his chest. He can see tears start to form in his son's eyes.
Buck squats down next to the bed and reaches out a hand to brush the tears away. “I miss him too Chris. I always miss him.”
“Can I sleep in yours and daddy’s room tonight? With you.” Chris gives him the puppy dog eyes, but they aren’t even necessary.
“Of course baby.” It’s clearly one of Chris’s bad nights, and he always ends up having nightmares on nights like these. Buck picks him up and carries him out of the room into his own. “Do you want me to read you a story tonight?” Chris silently nods and he hurries to grab one from Chris’s room.
Buck reads him the story and Chris quickly falls asleep against his shoulder. He carefully lays them both down and kisses Chris on the forehead. He closes his own eyes and falls into a fitful sleep.
Chris only wakes up from one nightmare and Buck just hugs him to his chest until he calms down. They fall back asleep cuddled in each other's arms.
~~~
Buck yawns as he walks into the station the next morning after dropping Chris off at school.
“Rough night Buck?” Hen asks as he drowsily walks into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee maker.
“Chris slept with me last night and he had a nightmare.” He leaves out the fact that he himself had nightmares last night. “He’s a hell of a kicker when he sleeps too.”
He’s kind of relieved he can talk about his kid now, he might even tell them about Eddie soon. It’s been getting harder to hide the fact that he’s in such a serious relationship, especially now they know about his kid. Bobby was right, they’ll find out eventually. He’s still just not ready to have that conversation and answer all the questions.
“Kids are tough indeed.” He’s glad Hen understands. He finishes making his coffee and moves to sit on one of the couches.
“Woah, hey Buck, busy night?” Chimney winks at him as he jumps up the last stair. Buck just rolls his eyes and sees Hen trying to shut him up out of the corner of his eye. Buck thought that these kinds of jokes would stop now that they knew he at least had a kid. But alas.
“Just shut up Chim, Chris had a rough night last night that’s all.” Buck closed his eyes again and is close to falling asleep when the alarm goes off. He groans, but gets up and jogs down the stairs toward the trucks.
They pull up to the accident, there was a crash involving a city bus. He and Hen are sent to a man who had a piece of glass pierce his neck. There’s another guy in a military uniform holding a shirt to the man's injury. “I uh, I’ve been holding pressure to the wound since it happened.” He says when they walk up.
“Good job.” Hen says. Buck checks the guy's pulse while Hen pulls out her medical bag and starts to get to work. Buck turns to the soldier and makes sure he doesn’t have any injuries. He seems okay, just a little panicked. “Thank you, you may have saved his life.” Hen nods to the guy. Buck and Hen get the injured man onto a gurney and into the ambulance. A woman comes up to Buck and taps him lightly on the shoulder.
“That man over there,” She points to the guy in the uniform that just helped them out, “he’s got some place to be. He’s wanting to surprise his daughter, you think you guys could help him out?”
Buck feels a surge of emotions at this. He thinks of Eddie, and how much he would appreciate the help in this situation. “Of course, I’ll see what I can do.” He smiles at the lady and walks over to Bobby. “Hey, um Bobby?” Buck asks, a little nervous. He really wants to help this guy. “Do you think we could help that guy over there? He needs a ride to get to his daughter.”
Bobby smiles in understanding and agrees. Buck runs back over and tells him they’re going to help him. He looks so happy as they both rush over to the fire truck. They get him to his daughter’s performance as quickly as they can and Buck and Bobby go inside with him to watch.
Buck can’t stop the tears that come as he watches the soldier reunite with his daughter. He can’t help but imagine the pair as Chris and Eddie. God he misses him. Buck wipes away the tears as Bobby turns to him. Bobby puts a comforting arm around his shoulder as they walk out of the auditorium.
~~~
The only thing that keeps Buck going throughout the day is the fact that Eddie is calling tonight.
He usually calls every two weeks, but it’s been a month since their last one because Eddie was called away before they could even speak last time. Chris has been having more and more bad nights because it’s been so long since he’s seen his dad. Buck thinks a call from Eddie will be enough for now to settle him. At least he hopes.
Bobby can tell he’s anxious to get home. It’s been a slow day, so he lets Buck leave early.
After thanking Bobby profusely and waving to a confused Hen and Chim, he rushes to his Jeep and goes straight to Chris’s school and waits to pick him up. In the meantime, he calls Carla and tells her she doesn’t need to pick up Chris today.
Buck gets out of the car and watches the joy unfold on Chris’s face when his son sees him. He comes over to Buck as fast as he can and squeals as he lifts him up onto his hip.
“Dad!” Chris hugs him around his neck. “What are you doing here? I thought Carla picks me up today.”
Buck smiles at him and ruffles his hair as he situates him in the backseat. “Well, Bobby let me off work early so I could come get you!” He smiles widely at that. Buck jogs around the car and hops into the driver's seat. “How was school today buddy?” He listens as Chris rambles on about his classes and friends. Buck is glad that Chris has been able to settle in nicely at his new school. Him and Eddie were worried he would have a hard time, but it seems like Chris is as popular as he was back in Texas.
“Is daddy still calling today?” He sounds a little nervous in asking, Buck knows how hurt he was when Eddie missed his last call.
“Of course. He wouldn’t miss it.” At a red light, Buck reaches back and grabs Chris’s hand. “You know last time wasn’t his fault right?” Chris nods and looks down at his lap. “How do you feel about ice cream?” Buck watches as the sad look on his face is replaced by a small smile.
They get their ice cream and arrive home an hour before their scheduled call. Chris sits at the table and gets a start on his homework for the weekend. Buck feels a surge of pride at how good their kid is. He gets the tablet set up for the call at the table as well and grabs a book while they wait.
The call comes in right on time. Chris bounces in excitement as Buck accepts it.
“Daddy!” Chris yells as soon as it goes through and Eddie's face shows up on the screen.
“Hey superman! I’ve missed you buddy!” Buck smiles and watches as his boyfriend talks to their son. He tells his dad all about what’s been going on at school, and even about his day at the station. Watching Eddie talk to Chris is enough to settle the nervous energy constantly rushing through him while he’s gone.
He must have zoned out because Chris is pushing at his shoulder and motioning to the tablet. “Daddy wants to talk to you.” Buck smiles and turns towards Eddie as Chris walks to the living room.
“Buck.” Eddie says softly, with a look on his face just as soft.
“Eddie.” Buck breathes out, tears starting to gather in his eyes.
“I miss you so much cariño. You have no idea.” Buck melts at the pet name and smiles at his boyfriend.
“I miss you too, Eddie. So much.” Buck checks the time and sees they only have five minutes left. The feeling of dread starts to come back.
“Mi amor, I’ll be home soon. I promise you.” Eddie has a look in his eyes—so certain—that Buck can’t help but believe him. “Now,” Eddie wipes away his own tears, “tell me about what’s been going on with you. How’s the fire station?”
Buck tells him all about the job and the people he’s met and come to think of as family. He feels so at ease just having a conversation with Eddie, and he doesn’t want to let that feeling go.
But they only have a minute left and Eddie is being called away. Chris comes back over and they wave goodbye. “I love you boys, so much.”
“I love you daddy.” Chris smiles a sad smile.
“I love you, Eddie.” Buck blows him a kiss as the call disconnects. Chris climbs up on his lap and cries into his neck. Buck let’s a few of his own tears fall, but he has to be strong for Chris. Tonight will likely be another bad night. They always are after Eddie calls.
Buck makes them a quick dinner after Chris calms down and they head to bed early.
He and his son fall asleep in each other’s arms once again.
~~~
Buck shuts the fridge and walks over to the couches. It’s been a slow day so far and honestly he’s a little bored. Not that he wants anyone to get hurt—obviously he doesn’t—he’s just getting a little restless wandering around the station. He tried to spend a little time in the gym downstairs but he quickly got exhausted from that.
He’s about to go find Hen or Chim to see if they want to play a game with him when he hears a commotion downstairs. “Hey! You can’t just barge in here and demand to see one of my employees.” He hears Bobby’s ‘boss’ voice ring out through the station. Buck jumps up from his seat and rushes towards the stairs. Whatever is going on, he’s going to help Bobby.
Buck freezes.
“Eddie?” He says in disbelief. It can’t be, he must be dreaming. He must’ve fallen asleep on the couch. That’s the only logical explanation.
“Evan.” Buck feels all the air leave his lungs when he hears his boyfriend's voice. He almost falls to his knees right where he’s standing. But he snaps back to life and runs down the rest of the stairs. Buck crashes into Eddie and wraps his arms as tightly as he can around his shoulders. He feels Eddie wrap his own arms around his waist. It’s taking everything in him not to break down sobbing right now. He can’t believe it’s been over a year since he last held the love of his life in his arms.
He reluctantly pulls back and holds Eddie's face in his hands. Buck doesn’t think he’s ever been so happy to just look at him. He runs his eyes over every inch of Eddie’s face as he rubs his cheeks with his thumbs. He’s still in his uniform, as if he came straight here from the plane.
“You’re here. You’re really here.” He whispers into the air between them.
“I’m here mi amor. I’m here.” Eddie rubs his own thumbs against Bucks hips. He finally lets his tears fall and he pulls Eddie back towards him. They’re pressed together from head to toe and he never wants to move again. “I’m here.” Eddie whispers into his hair. They stand in each other’s arms for what feels like an hour. “And I’m here to stay.” At this, Buck moves back in shock.
“What?”
“I retired from the army. I’m back for good. I’m here to stay with you and Chris, Buck. Forever.” Buck starts to cry again when Eddie whispers it to him.
“Forever sounds amazing.” Buck smiles softly, and finally—finally—leans in and kisses his boyfriend senseless.
“Oh and there’s something else.” Buck pulls away again in confusion. Eddie steps out of his arms and drops down.
Onto one knee.
Buck gasps and covers his mouth with his hands. Distantly, he hears a couple other gasps from behind him. He pays them no mind.
“Evan Buckley, I know I haven’t been here. But I promise I will never leave you, or Chris, again. I love you more than anything. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Buck doesn’t think he’ll ever stop crying today. “Will you marry me, Buck?”
Buck let’s out a loud sob and nods excessively. “Yes. Yes Eddie, of course I will.” He doesn’t wait for Eddie to stand back up, instead Buck falls to his knees and collapses into Eddie. His fiancé. He smiles at that thought.
“I love you, cariño.” Buck laughs and kisses Eddie all over his face. He can barely contain his happiness.
They’re interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Buck turns his head in their direction and blushes fiercely. He had forgotten his whole team was watching.
“Care to tell us what’s going on?” Chim gestures to the couple still sitting on the floor. Bobby just watched with a proud smile.
Buck scrambles to stand up and reaches a hand out for Eddie. “Um, well. Guys, this is Eddie. He’s my boy—my fiancé.” Buck grins, he can finally say that out loud.
“Well, we gathered that.” Hen said dryly. “How come you never told us about him?”
“Well... it’s not that I didn’t want to.” Buck plays with Eddie's fingers nervously. “It’s just, there’s a lot of questions that come with dating someone in the military and I didn’t want to deal with that. And then it had been so long, I just... never brought it up.” Buck finished a little sheepishly.
He sees Chim start to speak up, but Hen puts a hand on his arm. “We’re happy for you Buck.” She smiles softly at him and he feels a rush of love for his little family. Eddie puts an arm around his shoulder and leans in again.
“I called Carla, she’s bringing Chris here when he’s done with school.” Buck smiles at the mention of their son. God, he can’t wait to see the look on Chris’s face when he sees Eddie. Buck leans into the embrace and hears the teasing coos coming from his team.
They all head up to the kitchen and Bobby makes some food to celebrate. Buck finds out that Bobby was in on it, and purposely made a scene so Buck would be surprised when Eddie showed up. Buck let’s go of his hold on his fiancé and gives Bobby a huge hug. “Thank you.” He whispers to him. Bobby just pats his back and lets him go.
Buck quickly moves back into Eddie's space, not wanting to be too far away from him.
“Buck?” He hears Carla call his name from the entrance downstairs. He makes eye contact with Eddie and they silently decide Buck will go downstairs to get Chris while Eddie stays upstairs and waits. Buck kisses him as he gets up.
“Superman!” Buck greets their son when he gets downstairs. Chris giggles loudly as Buck picks him up and practically runs them up the stairs. He can hear Carla following them.
He sets the giggling child down and turns him around.
Chris gasps and drops his crutches. Buck instantly reaches out to steady him as he yells. “Daddy!” Eddie practically runs to him and pulls him into his arms. Buck watches as he spins their son around in the air.
Eddie settles Chris on his hip and has tears running down his face. Buck can feel more tears start to gather in his own eyes. He’s still a little shocked from the events of the day, and leans against Carla as he slightly collapses. She rubs his arm comfortingly and leads him over to sit down.
Eddie and Chris soon join him on the couch. He instantly reaches out to tangle his fingers with Eddies. Buck’s not gonna let go of him for a long time now.
“Hey buddy, guess what?” Chris looks up at Eddie questioningly. “Daddy and Bucky are getting married.” Chris shouts in glee and hugs his parents close. Buck laughs and smiles over Chris’s head at Eddie. They’re finally together. And they will be for a long, long time.
“I love you.” Buck whispers.
“I love you more.” Eddie whispers back.