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“Clean bill of health.” Bobby said proudly, walking Buck inside the bay after getting checked out at the hospital for smoke inhalation. Not that Eddie was worried about that. Buck had to get checked out for smoke inhalation pretty regularly because he was always losing his helmet. It was becoming a running gag to see who could find it after or during an emergency scenario. And since his helmet rested over his face mask, it wasn’t surprising that it became a game to the ER, as well as B-shift, about if he had to be checked out during a shift or not, not even mentioning them getting in on where his helmet ended up. This wasn’t that, though. This was Buck ready to give up and die. This was him being reckless because he suddenly felt like his life didn’t mean anything.
“Glad to hear it.” Eddie forced a smile as Bobby patted Buck’s shoulder and walked off. “Show off.”
“I had to do it.” Buck shrugged, looking better than he had before he was checked out. He looked more like himself and less like he was falling apart. He was still hurt, that much was clear in his eyes. But he didn’t look like he wanted to die to escape anything.
“I know you did.” Eddie sighed. “Look, you have two options.”
“Alright?” Buck tilted his head in confusion.
“One, I can tell you something and you can willingly let me take care of it with you present; two, if you won’t willingly allow me to do this thing, something like maybe talk to your parents, I’m doing it without telling you how it goes.” Eddie shrugged, giving Buck as much of an unconcerned look as he could muster.
“Why would I want any of you to talk to my parents?” Buck asked in complete bewilderment. Which was fair. “I wouldn’t have let Chim talk to them, but Maddie’s the one who set that bullshit up.”
“So which do you choose?” Eddie pressed.
“If I had to choose, like, axe hanging over me,” Buck searched Eddie’s face, but Eddie only arched an eyebrow at him, “I’d … prefer if we were together if I had to talk to them again. I learned the hard way that … my sister isn’t on my side. Chimney definitely isn’t. But you always have been. Even if you complain that I’m a pain in your ass. And I kinda wanna hear what you would say to them.” Eddie grinned and Buck ducked his head bashfully. He was too freaking adorable, and Eddie barely kept himself from tugging him closer. He clenched his hands where they were braced in his crossed arms to prevent himself from doing that, though. It wasn’t the time or place. Yet.
“Good.” Eddie smiled when Buck chuckled and looked up at him from under his lashes. Eddie rolled his eyes. Buck knew exactly what he was doing, the asshole. “So. Right now, you are going to follow me, and you are going to keep your damnable mouth shut. Or I will shut you up.”
“Promises, promises.” Buck chuckled, grinning crookedly at him. “Gonna tell me why I’m following you? I mean, I will, obviously, but maybe a heads up about what I’m walking into?”
“Nope.” Eddie grinned, finally reaching out and putting an arm around Buck and leading him to the stairs. “If you can keep quiet, I might just reward you later.”
“You don’t like me staying quiet.” Buck pointed out. Annoyingly true.
“I don’t like it, no. But I’m saying my piece and you are going to let me.” Eddie squeezed Buck’s shoulder as they reached the top. Buck froze when they reached the loft, his entire body going rigid. Eddie kept a firm hold on him, guiding him to keep walking toward the people waiting at the table. “Hi, I’m Eddie Diaz, Buck’s partner.” Eddie said with a fake smile, reaching a hand out since it was the polite thing to do, even if he planned on being anything but polite once he started the conversation.
“I’m Philip, this is Margaret.” The man introduced himself and shook Eddie’s hand. “Is Eddie short for anything?”
“Nothing I’ll answer to.” Eddie smiled. He puffed up a little when Buck snorted quietly beside him, but definitely made no move to get away from Eddie’s side or protection. “I gotta say, I don’t know why anyone let you in here, aside from the potential of forcing a confrontation and apology from Buck whether he owes one or not.”
“I hardly think it’s your business.” Margaret frowned at him disapprovingly.
“I’m sure you don’t.” Eddie agreed, still smiling politely. “But Buck is my partner. You’ve met Maddie’s partner and spent the entire evening talking about her experience with surviving domestic abuse as if it happened to a stranger on the news and that your daughter and potentially future son-in-law didn’t bear the physical scars from the ordeal. I know about all of it because I was here when it happened. Just like I was here when Buck was blown up and managed to survive a tsunami while still on medical leave and protecting my eight year old with Cerebral Palsy. Except, neither of you were here for that. Did you do therapy for that as well, or just for your daughter’s situation?”
“That is definitely not your business and completely inappropriate to ask about.” Philip bristled, putting an arm around his wife.
“I agree.” Eddie nodded. “Yet here you are, cornering your son, who you barely acknowledge as your son, while he is at work in an emergency field that requires him to be able to focus and react immediately. He didn’t call you, and you didn’t come to California to see him. Not now and definitely not the past five years he’s lived here training and working as a firefighter.”
“Evan-”
“Buck.” Eddie cut Philip off again. Buck sort of shrank into his side more somehow. It was triggering his anger that someone tried to make Buck feel small and if they didn’t leave soon Eddie was going to take a swing, he could already feel it. “His name is Buck. You gave him a name and might as well have forgotten he existed, so he chose a new one. Now. Unless you want your faults brought up you are going to get up, turn around, and leave. My partner almost got himself killed last night because you were more than happy to let your grief blind you to his existence for probably his entire life. You are the reason he was willing to not make it out of a dangerous situation. You did that. Because, as much as our captain likes to call him reckless, he isn’t. He learned from your parenting, that getting hurt and needing medical care gained him attention and affection from people who were supposed to love him unconditionally. You trained your living son to believe that love was conditional. So you are going to leave, or I will give you more instances, more examples, of your failings.” Eddie was holding Buck tighter, but Buck didn’t seem to mind.
“And you’re just ok with this?” Margaret asked, looking at Buck who glanced up at them but looked back at the floor quickly. “You’re ok with your coworker talking to us this way?”
“Eddie’s my partner.” Buck said quietly. “And he’s right. You didn’t come to LA for me, I don’t even know why you’re tracking me down at work aside from making yourselves feel less guilty for the fact you forgot I existed for at least a decade. Between you and Maddie, all of you have tried to push your perspective on me. You don’t care how I feel, only that you aren’t carrying the guilt of me learning a secret about why I exist in the first place. You want to be in Maddie and Chimney- I mean, Howard’s, lives, fine. Be there for them. They want you there.”
“And you don’t?” Philip asked, looking confused and irritated.
“You don’t know anything about me.” Buck said, standing up a little taller, but not dislodging Eddie’s arm. “I’d say you don’t know my birthday, but you do because I shared it with Daniel, which I only found out about two days ago. I was made for him. So you don’t get to guilt me into feeling bad for being angry that you were pressured to show up for me for the first time in my life. I’m allowed to be angry for a day or 20. However long it takes me to work through the crap you all told me, with my therapist.”
“Again with the therapy.” Margaret scoffed.
“Leave. Now.” Eddie said firmly. “You don’t work here, you’re not experiencing an emergency, and you have no associations with anyone unless you’re here to speak with Chimney. Buck, go to the bunk room and I’ll be there in a second.”
“Don’t go fight-club-Eddie.” Buck said quietly, looking over and meeting his eyes for a minute. Eddie sighed in annoyance, earning him a fond grin before he nodded. He squeezed Buck’s shoulder once more before he was walking away, giving Philip and Margaret Buckley a wide berth.
“Everything ok?” Hen asked in confusion, passing Buck on his way down, when she came up with Chimney on her heels. Chim froze like he was ready to run away again once he saw who Eddie was talking to, but took a breath and cleared his throat before approaching with his own practiced smile.
“Mr. and Mrs. Buckley, I didn’t know you were coming by.” Chim said as cheerfully as he could.
“We were hoping to talk to Evan, but this man isn’t allowing it.” Philip huffed, gesturing to Eddie. Eddie crossed his arms again and gave Hen and Chimney a look that said not to push him. He absolutely would go fight-club-Eddie if he thought he needed to, no matter what Buck said.
“Did you not try calling in advance?” Chimney frowned. “Buck was at the hospital to get looked over for smoke inhalation, he only just got back a few minutes ago.”
“We,” Margaret cleared her throat nervously, “oddly enough, don’t have his number.”
“He’s had the same number since he was 16.” Hen pointed out, crossing her arms similarly to Eddie, getting defensive too. “He got a lot of calls last year from his high school about coming back for his ten year reunion before COVID locked us down.”
“If you don’t have his number,” Chim looked at Eddie. Eddie arched an eyebrow at him, daring him to give it out, “then it’s probably best to wait until he calls again or until he and Maddie can make up and talk. Buck can’t stay mad. He physically can’t do it. He’s angry and hurt right now, and he’ll get over it. After a few days. Give him time and he’ll call.”
“He’s called before.” Eddie pointed out, drawing attention back to him. “I know he has, because I asked him about it. He was with me a few times when I spoke to my parents, even if he prefers to be there when my sisters call since he likes them better than my parents. He was upset, Maddie’s first Christmas out here, and called and left a message, while he was with me and my son in line at the Christmas village, to ask you to call her. You didn’t answer.”
“You took Buck with you and your son to see Santa?” Hen asked, arching an eyebrow at him. He glared back at her.
“Chris likes Buck hanging out with us.” Eddie argued. “Since they met, I haven’t been able to keep them apart, even if that was something I wanted to do. When you came over that year, it was our second Christmas together. We’ve had three, now. And no matter what I say, I can’t stop him from spoiling Chris with a new lego set or an expensive experiment kit from the museum or aquarium. Wherever they spend their day out together.”
“You have a son and you trust Evan, of all people, to take care of him?” Margaret asked in disbelief, her hand on her chest as if it were shock worthy.
“There is no getting between Buck and Christopher Diaz.” Chimney said, shaking his head fervently. “Not unless you want said nine year old to rip you to shreds verbally.”
“He did apologize to you eventually.” Eddie pointed out.
“That boy loves his Buck.” Hen sighed, “but on that note, I’m gonna check on Buckeroo and make sure he isn’t pacing a hole in the floor before you come down.”
“I’m … going to check the ambulance.” Chim said hurriedly following Hen down the steps before detouring away from the bunk room. Which was a good idea. Eddie didn’t feel like going after Chimney next, but he would if he pushed Eddie’s boundaries involving Buck more than he already had.
“Buck will call if and when he’s ready.” Eddie said, refocusing on the Buckleys. “Please leave and allow him time to grieve someone he never met but who was the sole reason for his existence.” That seemed to cause them to actually pause. It was like they’d never considered that Buck would be experiencing any level of grief for Daniel.
“I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again, Eddie.” Philip said, standing up and pulling Margaret to her feet. “Have a good day.” Eddie kept a tight smile on his face as he watched them descend the stairs and finally exit the firehouse. He shook his arms out and worked his jaw a few times since that was where most of his tension settled.
“You handled that well.” Bobby said, watching him curiously from the kitchen. He must have snuck by when Eddie was shaking himself out. “Quintana told me they stopped by, but I’d already left Buck at the doors and made it to my office when she caught me.”
“I told Buck he had two options for me dealing with them. He could stand with me and hear what all I said, or he could go where I directed him and he’d never have known they were ever here or that we talked.” Eddie swiped a hand over his face. “I sent him downstairs after a few minutes up here attempting politeness. I’m going to go check and make sure he isn’t climbing the bunk room walls.”
“Eddie.” Eddie paused at Bobby’s soft yet commanding tone and looked over. “You have a unique relationship. More healthy than anything either of you somehow find yourselves in with anyone else. If anything changes, I hope you’ll follow protocol and let me know, as your captain. And I also hope you know, as your friend, I’m happy if you both are happy.”
“Got it.” Eddie nodded, grinning at Bobby before heading down to find his partner.
He wasn’t too surprised to find Buck and Hen giggling together in the back corner. He just watched them for a minute, glad that Buck could smile and laugh after having his parents show up at the station. Granted, he wasn’t sure if Bobby was going to talk to whoever let them in to wait for Buck or if he was going to let Hen or Eddie do it. Either way, Eddie just wanted to make sure that no one let anyone in to try to talk to Buck again while he was on shift. Hen spotted him and whispered something to Buck who looked up, a small smile still etched across his entire face, and met Eddie’s eyes. Hen gave Buck an affectionate pat on the arm before walking over and doing the same to Eddie, leaving them alone.
“Was I good enough to be rewarded?” Buck asked with a knowing smirk.
“Don’t be a dick.” Eddie snorted, walking right into Buck’s space, pinning him to the wall. “We’re at work. It wouldn’t be very professional for me to reward you here.”
“That doesn’t bother me like you think it might.” Buck chuckled. “You just stood up for me. You got all protective and alpha male about me. Seems like you need a reward, too.”
“Will you be able to keep your hands and eyes to yourself for the rest of our shift?” Eddie arched an eyebrow at him.
“That’s … asking a lot.” Buck sighed, slumping down a little. Not defeatedly, more just a mark of annoyance that he wouldn’t be able to touch.
“I know, baby,” Eddie said in a low voice, grinning when Buck sucked in a breath, his eyes going a little wide, lust taking over his senses, “just think of it this way; if you touch me in a way that is not our normal touches over the next few hours, you’re going to lose most of your reward when we get home.”
“Got it.” Buck nodded eagerly, reaching up and resting his hands on Eddie’s waist, sliding them around his back and down to his ass. He knew Buck looked at his ass, he wasn’t subtle, but Eddie did the same thing to Buck. Granted, he hadn’t known what it meant or that it mattered until a particularly intensive therapy day. He just thought it was something everyone did. He and Buck checked people out together all the time. Buck was Eddie’s favorite person to observe and memorize, though. Which, according to his therapist, was definitely in the spectrum of gay.
“Good boy.” Eddie purred, smirking when Buck let out a small whimper and bit his lip. Eddie leaned forward so their noses were brushing and let out a sigh at feeling Buck’s long, pretty eyelashes flutter against his cheek. He wrapped one hand around Buck’s waist and slid it down to Buck’s ass before using his other hand to pull Buck’s neck, their lips meeting and sliding together as if they were made for each other and the world was blissfully silent. All Eddie could hear were the low hums or groans Buck let out and the beat of his own heart, loud in his ears as he finally took something for himself. It was definitely a test of personal strength and willpower to end the kiss before they were too turned on to be around other people. Because Eddie could feel his body reacting as Buck’s tongue was in his mouth. He could feel Buck’s body reacting, too. So he leaned back, giving Buck one last peck before physically stepping back and putting some space between them.
“The rest of this shift is going to be torture.” Buck whined, and Eddie couldn’t help laughing.
“But we’ll get through it because we’ll have an empty house when we get home tonight.” Eddie said, smiling as Buck’s face lit up. “So let’s finish our shift and keep our hands and eyes to ourselves.”
“I’ll do what I can.” Buck sighed, smiling a dopey, happy, love-sick smile. “Thanks, Eds. For standing up for me.”
“Anything for you.” Eddie cupped his cheek before turning and nodding for Buck to follow him back into the engine bay.
It was a decent remainder of shift. Mostly because Eddie had Buck’s undivided, happy-go-lucky attention. And Buck talked non-stop about when he worked in construction for a while. It didn’t matter that Hen was smirking at him knowingly as Buck trailed along behind him like an excited puppy. Eddie could only shrug unrepentantly, knowing he probably looked as love-sick as Buck did every time their eyes met. Let alone when the other wasn’t looking.
Buck was practically vibrating out of his skin when they got home. So Eddie held onto him and used his weight to steadily get Buck settled again. He pressed his hands into Buck everywhere he could, pushing and pulling, drawing him out, up into a form of euphoria Eddie hadn’t even known before holding him as they came down again. Watching Buck come back to himself, as he sighed in contentment at Eddie centering him and quieting his mind was beautiful and Eddie couldn’t wait to do that forever.