Archive of Our Own ^beta

Buck was not going to let himself think about what Tommy said. About why he broke up with him. He wasn’t. He should, but that was not on his mind at the moment. He got to the Diaz house and saw Eddie looking … well. Looking lighter and happier than he had in probably years, really. So he made his decision. He got online when Eddie went to bed finally and submitted for them both to have the next four days off (of course he had Eddie’s log in) since they technically only had the next two. Then he snuck back to the loft and packed a bag, grabbed a cooler and snacks, and went back to sleep on the couch for a few hours. When he woke up, Eddie was making coffee and looking tired, but peaceful. Buck smiled before heading into the bedroom and pulling a bag out and packing things for Eddie, too. 

“What, uh, what are you doin’, Buck?” Eddie asked in confusion, holding two coffee mugs in the door. Buck reached over and grabbed his cup before heading to the living room again, Eddie trailing after in bewildered silence.

“We’re going to get Christopher.” Buck said certainly.

“Buck-” Eddie sighed.

“No. You have the option, Eddie. You can come with me, or you can stay here and I’ll have him home in a few days. But he’s coming home.”

“He doesn’t want to.” Eddie argued weakly.

“So?” Buck arched an eyebrow at him. “He’s 14, he’s a child. You are a fucking adult, Eddie, his father , and you are letting your parents take your son and use him as a do-over for what they did to you. Now. You can either come with me, or you can stay here. I already put in for us to have a few extra days off for the drive, but Christopher belongs here. Not in another state where your parents are poisoning him against you. They are spoiling him and treating him like he’s- never mind. Not important. You said you trusted me to fight for him, so that is what I am doing. Are you coming, or not? After a shower, I mean. We both need that. And breakfast. Showers and breakfast. And maybe gas, I don’t remember if I filled up last night or not.”

“Alright.” Eddie said quietly, looking at Buck weirdly. “I’ll- I’ll shower first, then.”

“I’ll get us something whipped up to eat.” Buck nodded, heading into the kitchen, refilling his coffee, before figuring out what to make. 

Once Eddie was out of the shower, they ate, then Buck showered, then they got in the jeep and took off. Eddie still looked confused about the whole thing, but he just turned on music and they drove all day, singing or humming along to each song that came on. Eddie even looked up lyrics when Buck asked what someone was saying during a few songs. Eddie didn’t argue when Buck stopped in and got them checked into a hotel for two nights. Buck figured he was still in a bit of a daze, but Buck … Buck was done being left by people. And as much as Christopher leaving wasn’t about him, it still ached like it was. It still hurt. 

So Buck wasn’t exactly worried that Eddie was quiet and mostly just watching him. Even when Buck got them up in the morning and headed straight for the El Paso Diaz house. He’d texted Abuela to let her know what he was going to be doing and she was so excited she rambled off in Spanish on her voice-to-text that it made him smile. She was going to be there, anyway, and couldn’t wait to see them. She also thanked Buck for getting Eddie’s head out of his ass, even if he wasn’t sure he’d done that. Christopher was on his last day before fall break, so he’d have the next several days off anyway. Long enough for them to get everything they needed to have him re-enrolled in LA.

“Eddie.” His mom said in confusion when she opened the door after Buck knocked.

“Mom.”

“What are you doing here? Christopher is at school.” She blinked at him in confusion and barely glanced at Buck.

“I’m here to get his things together and take him home.” Eddie said certainly. Buck smiled proudly at him. He didn’t stutter or get angry or seem unsure of the decision. 

“Evanito!” Abuela cried, throwing the door open around Helena who was still standing stunned at the bold declaration and going straight to Buck and giving him a big hug, kissing his cheeks as she squeezed him as much as she could. “Oh, mi nietos, I’ve missed you both.” 

“Hola, Abuela.” Eddie chuckled when it was his turn. 

“Come in, come in, you need breakfast, then we talk.” She pulled them both inside and closed the door as they headed for the kitchen. “Sit, sit.”

“You’re not ready.” Helena finally said, ungluing her lips. 

“How would you know?” Buck asked curiously. Not maliciously or hostile, just curiously. 

“Christopher has barely talked to you.” She huffed.

“I wonder why.” Buck said flatly, hoping they’d at least have gotten a little further into breakfast before he started in on them, but that wasn’t going to happen, apparently. “I mean, it’s not like you’ve made any effort to check in yourself. It’s not like, I don’t know, Eddie is your son or anything.”

“Buck.” Eddie said, but he was fighting a smile. “Let her say what she wants before you say what’s been on your mind since you decided we were coming here, ok?”

“Fine.” Buck conceded, accepting the plates Abuela put in front of everyone. 

He smiled politely when Ramon entered, looking confused before taking a seat. It was quiet while they ate, which wasn’t unexpected. Buck and Eddie helped clean up while Abuela chatted with them about her neighbors. It wasn’t surprising that Sophia showed up as they were finishing, going straight for Eddie and giving him a big hug, making him laugh. Buck was surprised that it had been so long since he could remember Eddie laughing happily about anything. 

Buck and Eddie were shown Christopher’s room, which was his old one when Eddie and his son had been living with them after he got out of the Army. It wasn’t … bare, but it definitely wasn’t as full as Chris’ room back home in LA. As if he never planned to make it feel like home. It just solidified for Buck that they were doing the right thing. Even if Eddie was more of an unwilling accomplice. Lunch wasn’t nearly as quiet as breakfast had been, just because Sophia had shown up and was telling Eddie all about her kids and how things were going with work. Eddie filled her in on some of the calls they’d had that were far too entertaining. 

Everything sort of stopped when Christopher got home, looking worn down and annoyed. Until he saw his dad and Buck there. Confusion, hurt, and anger flashed across his face before he hurried to them after dropping his crutches and throwing his arms around them both since they’d both knelt down. All three of them were crying and clinging to each other, though. So it was fine. It took a few minutes, but Chris eventually backed up and really looked at his dad before smiling slyly.

“You shaved it.” He touched his dad’s face and Buck snickered.

“It was time.” Eddie shrugged. 

“You never should have grown it in the first place.” Chris chuckled. “You look fine with a beard, or stubble, but the mustache was super weird.”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Buck defended.

“Why are you here?” Chris looked between them curiously.

“To take you home.” Buck said with a small smile. 

“Even if I said I wasn’t ready?” Chris was fighting back a smirk, but Buck was just too happy to see his kid again.

“I’ll tell you a secret, ok?” Buck said quietly and Chris perked while Eddie looked at him a little confusedly.

“Ok?” Chris leaned into him a little more. 

“When, uh, when I was 13, Maddie had just moved to Boston, so I was fully alone with my parents for the first time ever. She wasn’t in the same town anymore, going to college where we could meet for dinner or lunch sometimes. I was thinking about running away, too.”

“You were?” Chris frowned, which matched Eddie’s frown so perfectly, it was adorable.

“You know why I didn’t?”

“Why?”

“Because they left first.” Buck said in a near whisper. “I don’t even know where they went, or what they were doing, and Maddie wasn’t answering her phone. I just knew that I got home from school one day and was completely alone. There wasn’t a note or anything about where they went or how long they were going to be gone. I was left alone, at 13, for two weeks. And they didn’t even acknowledge that I was there when they got back. They didn’t say where they had been or what they were doing, nothing. But I finally ran away when I was 19, after Maddie moved back. Just five years older than you are now. So I get needing to get away for a little while. It’s ok to need that space for a bit. But we always come back to each other.”

“You’re a good friend, Buck.” Chris said quietly, smiling at him and patting his cheek like he did when he was little. 

“I’m your best friend, unless you’ve replaced me?” Buck teased, trying to make it lighter again.

“Never.” Christopher laughed. “Dad, can you help me pack?”

“Sure, buddy.” Eddie said, looking close to tears again. He followed Christopher down the hall and when the door was shut, Buck finally stood up and looked at Helena and Ramon Diaz. Ramon looked curious about what he was going to say, but Helena looked irritated.

“He is better off here, with us.” She said, once she couldn’t hold her tongue anymore.

“Christopher is not your do over for Eddie.” Buck said firmly, briefly enjoying the shock of her widened eyes. “Yeah, don’t think I didn’t catch on to what you were doing. That birthday party? The one that you threw for Christopher turning 14? When did you do something that big for your own damn son? Eddie never got birthdays like that when he was a kid, but he still had more than I ever did. I learned my birthday when I went to kindergarten and they had charts showing them. You conditioned your own son to be constantly seeking validation and approval from you. And just like with my own parents, nothing he did was ever good enough for you. He raised his sisters while his dad was constantly gone for work. You taught him that to be a father meant to be absent. As long as he was providing monetary support.”

“Hold on-” Ramon said, sitting up.

“No. Eddie told me you’ve talked, and that you have come to an understanding and are working to fix things. I get that and can support it. But both of you need to accept that you are the reason Eddie had a breakdown all those months ago. You were the ones who forced him to marry Shannon in the first place, just because she was pregnant. You were the ones who showed up to her fucking funeral and used it to try and force Eddie into giving you his son because obviously he was alone again and unable to care for his own child. As if he wasn’t the one who taught Adriana how to tie her shoes. Or Sofia how to throw a punch without breaking her hand. He never had a childhood thanks to you. And he has been in so much therapy the past several months, I am amazed he is still showing up to work and putting on a smile no matter how racist or homophobic or sexist our boss was.”

“What?” Abuela looked concerned.

“Bobby briefly retired and then had to fight to come back, so we were stuck with an old white man that was stuck in the 70’s, at the least. Eddie is Latino. Hen is black and a lesbian. Chimney is Asian. Ravi is Pakistani. I’m the only one that fits Captain Gerard’s image of a firefighter. Aside from being bisexual. Eddie, like everyone else, accepted the hatred that Gerard spewed. But I couldn’t. That’s not the point, because Bobby’s back, so it’s fine now. The point is that Eddie learned how to suck it up and bury and hide his feelings somewhere. I guarantee it wasn’t in the Army. What have you done to talk to Christopher about what happened? Have you talked to him about it? Or pretended it didn’t happen? Have you talked about how your own fucking son was so caught up in the idea of being able to see his dead wife and get to apologize and let her go, years after she died, that he found her doppelganger? Did any of you do a single thing after she died to let him grieve?”

“Did you?” Helena retorted angrily.

“You mean, before or after I was blown up and crushed by a ladder truck?” Buck argued, raising an eyebrow, sticking his leg slightly forward that still had awful scars on it. “Eddie’s wife from a marriage you forced him into, died, and I nearly died barely a week later. I couldn’t be there for him until I was out of the hospital, where he visited me and texted me everyday. I was the one there when Eddie was nearly buried alive. I was the one there when he was shot by a sniper in downtown Los Angeles. I was the one there when he was finally getting help for his PTSD. Something neither of you did.”

“Buck,” Eddie said softly, hands resting on Christopher’s shoulders as they rejoined them with Christopher’s things, “it’s ok.”

“It’s so far from ok, Eddie, it’s not even funny.” Buck chuckled, looking back at the Diaz parents. “Instead of checking on your son, making sure he knew you loved him, that you supported him, in anything, you berated and chastised and demeaned him so much that he felt like he couldn’t take care of his own son when he has done an amazing job of it for the past seven years. Since he came to LA. He has put every single effort into making sure his son has support, that he knew he was loved, that he could do anything and everything he dreamed of and be as independent as he wanted, let alone needed. Christopher flourished in LA. He learned how to skateboard, he learned how to surf, he has won three science fairs, he is an honor student. And we celebrate everything, no matter how small it may seem, to let him know how proud we are.”

“We?” Ramon raised an eyebrow and looked at Eddie.

“Buck was the first one I told about Christopher when I started firefighting.” Eddie nodded before Buck could correct his slip-up. “He … even after working through an awful earthquake, after he defied orders to evacuate so he could save his team, he still drove me to the school to pick Chris up. I was too stressed, since it was my first major natural disaster as a single father. A week later, Buck introduced me to Carla, our home health aide. He’s been with us for pretty much every milestone.”

“I ran to Buck when I got scared or worried about dad.” Chris admitted.

“But not this time.” Buck said a little sadly.

“You needed to be there for dad.” Chris shrugged. “You couldn’t help both of us through this, Buck. He needed you more than I did. I knew you’d come for me. When he was ready.”

“Which he did.” Eddie said, squeezing Chris’ shoulder and smiling at Buck. “Even if I know it was more to distract himself from something he doesn’t want to talk about yet.”

“That- this- this isn’t about me.” Buck frowned, his face feeling hot at being called out.

“So you shared these milestones with your work partner, but not your family?” Helena said in a hurt tone.

“Buck’s my other dad.” Chris said, frowning at her.

“You didn’t care about Eddie’s milestones, so why should you get to share Christopher’s? I know you didn’t share while your son was overseas.” Buck argued. “You need to support your son, as much as you have been supporting your grandson. Support him, show him you love and care about him, and he’ll share these things with you.”

“Besides,” Chris said, smirking at Buck, “if anything ever does happen to dad, I wouldn’t end up here.”

“What?” Helena frowned and looked at Eddie. “You’d put that on one of your sisters?”

“No.” Eddie snorted, grinning at Sophia who winked at him. “All first responders are required to have wills and powers of attorney. Emergency points of contact. You never wondered why you weren’t called by anyone official the times I was hospitalized?”

“Well?” Ramon asked, looking curious.

“It’s Buck.” Eddie shrugged. “Just like I’m his, along with Bobby and his sister Maddie.”

“And how do we know he’ll take care of our grandson like he needs-” Helena ruffled.

“You don’t.” Buck cut in. “Because that is not your call to make. It is not your decision. I was the one Eddie put in his will to take care of Christopher if he doesn’t come home one day. Because he trusts me. You can fight that all you want. But California age of consent is 14. Christopher will be consulted in where he wants to be, in that unthinkable scenario. But that’s never gonna happen. Eddie’s my partner. And I’ll always have his back.”

“What do your parents think of this?” Ramon asked interestedly.

“My parents?” Buck frowned, tilting his head a little, trying to make sense of the question.

“Yes.” Ramon chuckled, clearly amused by something. Eddie had the same grin his dad did, Buck realized. 

“I’ve talked to my parents maybe ten times since I left home at 19.” Buck said cautiously. “And only because it’s what my sister wants and all in the past three years. They didn’t care when I was in that house with them, and once I found out the reason, I didn’t see the need to interact with them unless it was necessary. I went almost a decade without talking to them before they showed up again.”

“Reason?” Ramon tilted his head.

“I was a savior sibling.” Buck said quietly. “Apparently I had a brother that was diagnosed with leukemia and neither my parents nor my sister were a match for a bone marrow transplant. So they made one. Me. They signed off on me having a major surgery when I was a year old to try and save their son and forced Maddie into secrecy about it until a few years ago. He died, and my parents have been ghosts, haunting me as much as I was haunting them since then. I was just a reminder that they lost Daniel, the son they wanted. They don’t care about me. They don’t even like me. Which they proved when they felt the need to give my sister her baby box in front of me, knowing full well that they never did anything like that for me. My big sister is the one who taught me how to tie my shoes, like Eddie did with his sisters. My big sister took me to school, taught me how to ride a bike, and even went to parent-teacher conferences with me. She was more my mother than my actual mom. So whatever they have to say doesn’t matter.”

“I’m sorry you went through that.” Ramon said, looking genuinely apologetic. “You were abandoned by your family, while we burdened mi hijo with the same responsibility your sister took on. We have a lot to make up for, I’m learning as much. Hopefully this break has allowed you both some time to heal. We will try and make more trips up, now that we are both retired. It was not fair of us to harass Eddie to come see us when we were not willing to make concessions the other way around.”

“Finally.” Abuela exclaimed, making Eddie and Christopher giggle while Ramon huffed and rolled his eyes. 

“Ay, mama. You take care of our boys, Buck. And be safe driving back. We’ll check-in and maybe plan to visit in a month or so, once you’ve had time to settle back into a routine.” Ramon hugged Buck and Buck hugged back automatically, but he was feeling rather stunned. He … was not expecting to be supported in his rash decision to pick Christopher up. Ramon backed away and went and hugged his son tightly, whispering something to him that made Eddie’s ears turn pink. Christopher giggled again before hugging his grandpa who then dragged his wife over to hug her son and grandson goodbye.

“I’m adding you to our groupchat.” Sophia said from Buck’s side. “We hear about you all the time, but we’d love to include you and your sister since you’re apparently family more than we knew.”

“He’s gonna get pissy that we get along.” Buck smirked.

“He can commiserate with your big sister.” She shrugged unconcernedly. “Call us when you get them home and settled.”

“I will.” Buck promised, snickering when she hugged him tightly before Abuela was there to hug him as well. 

“We facetime to cook together again, nieto.”

“Si.” Buck nodded. 

“Bueno.” She nodded before hugging Eddie and Christopher and then they were in the car heading for the hotel. 

“I … huh.” Buck blew out a breath when he parked at the hotel again.

“There he is.” Chris snickered, Eddie grinning.

“Feel better?” Eddie asked.

“Kinda.” Buck admitted, feeling his face heat up. “Thought I was gonna have to say a whole lot more, though. I did not think it would be that easy.”

“Abuelo said he’s been waiting for dad to show up.” Chris admitted. “When he and bisabuela would talk.”

“I had a lot to work through, buddy.” Eddie sighed heavily. “I’m still working on some things, but Buck is right. I’m your dad and you’re my kid. I should be telling you what to do, not letting you dictate everything just yet. I was planning on setting up some family counseling times when you were ready to come back. We’ll check your new school schedule and see when it will work for us.”

“We should do some with just you and me and some with all three of us.” Chris nodded, opening his door.

“Wait, what?” Buck scrunched his face up in confusion and looked at Eddie, but he had also already gotten out. He scrambled out of his seatbelt and hurried to catch up with the Diaz boys. “What do you mean with all three of us?”

“Buck,” Chris sighed heavily, almost disappointedly, making Buck frown as Eddie pursed his lips not to laugh, “you’re part of our family. Dad blindsided you, too. And you were caught in our mess because we both rely on you. We shouldn’t have done that to you. You found something new out about yourself this last year, but we never celebrated it. Never did anything to show we love you. You are my other dad, whether dad’s still here or not.”

“I think it’s a good idea.” Eddie agreed. “We … we never really talked about that. Or about my will. None of it. But I think we should.”

“You both know if you want me there, I’ll be there.” Buck said firmly, if quietly. Feeling choked up a bit. “I’d do anything for you guys.”

“How, uh, how did you convince your boyfriend that you were doing this?” Chris asked curiously once they were in the elevator. Buck pursed his lips and tried to silently encourage the elevator to go faster. “Buck?”

“I didn’t.” Buck finally said in an exhale as they finally reached their floor and stepped off. “I didn’t because … because I don’t have a boyfriend anymore.” He opened their room door and walked in with Chris and Eddie following. He bit his lip when Eddie’s hand landed on his shoulder and he forced Buck to look at him while Chris sat on the bed with his brows furrowed together in concern.

“What happened? I thought you guys were doing good?” Eddie asked in concern.

“So did I!” Buck exclaimed, throwing his arms out before rubbing his face. “So did I. It’s …  we’ve been together for half a year, Eddie. Aside from Abby and Taylor, this has been my longest relationship. And he just … god, Abby.”

“Ok, why don’t we sit down and you can tell us what happened, ok?” Eddie suggested, guiding Buck to the bed and sitting him down before he sat beside Christopher across from him.

“He came over, and I thought … I thought we were getting to that point, ya know? Where we could talk about maybe moving in together. Something. But we both agreed there was a lot we didn’t know about each other still. So he … he told me about how he had been engaged to a woman for nearly two years before he was willing to admit he was gay. And how he hated hearing about how she hooked up with some- some- himbo half her age when she moved on!”

“Ok, so why is that upsetting to you?” Eddie asked cautiously, and Buck got up to pace. 

“Because his ex-fiance was Abby Clark.” Buck groaned. “The woman I was with for most of a year, who left me at the airport and never actually ended our relationship. I was the himbo, Eddie! I was the one Tommy was pissed about! And I’m not half her age. She was only 14 years older than me. Tommy was 16 years older than me.”

“Oh my god.” Chris said, and it took a few seconds of silence before he and Eddie were giggling together. 

“Yes, thank you, laugh it up.” Buck groaned, flopping down on the bed. “The fucked up part was that … he didn’t even hesitate, ya know? I- I asked him. Point blank. I asked if he was breaking up with me. And he just … he agreed that he was before he fucking left. And I didn’t want to be alone afterwards. I didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to be left alone with my mind, circling around about what is so wrong with me that everyone just … everyone leaves.” He covered his face as he felt his eyes sting. He didn’t move his hands when the bed dipped and he was in the middle of a Diaz sandwich. “Everyone we know has had a serious relationship or family before they were my age. What do I get? PTSD from being blown up, going through a tsunami, having my best friend shot in front of me? Dying?” He swallowed thickly. “I died, guys.”

“Hey.” Eddie said gently, taking his hands off his face and holding one while Chris took his other one. “None of what has happened to you is your fault. And thinking there’s something wrong with you? That’s Phillip and Margaret Buckley talking. Because there’s nothing wrong with you, Buck.”

“Except maybe undiagnosed ADHD.” Chris interjected, making Buck snort and look over at him finally. He was smiling at him. “Tommy’s a tool for not appreciating how awesome you are.”

“He’s right.” Eddie added, making Buck turn to look at him. “Tommy … he wasn’t a bad guy. But he wasn’t the right fit for you.”

“He said the first relationship, after coming out, is never the last.” Buck felt a tear finally break free. “But that’s wrong. Remember those guys? The ones that had been together for 60 years and died together?”

“I remember.” Eddie swallowed thickly.

“Before he died, I asked him what the secret was. What the secret to finding love like that was. He said ‘you don’t find it, you make it’.”

“Smart man.” Eddie gave him a small smile. “Love isn’t found, Buck. Maddie was incredibly lucky to find Chim, just as he was lucky to find her. They found each other because of you, though, and that was only the first part of their story. You think Bobby and Athena don’t have to work at what they have? Or Hen and Karen?”

“No, I know they do.” Buck frowned.

“Because you saw all of them when they were at low points.” Eddie encouraged. “You were here when Hen cheated with her ex and had to work to earn Karen’s trust and forgiveness back. You were here when Bobby relapsed, before he got with Athena and they built something amazing together. You got to see your sister happy in a relationship after surviving domestic abuse. And you’ve seen how much work both her and Chim have had to put into making their beautiful family.”

“You made our family.” Chris added, making Buck turn to look at him. “I know mom came back for a little while, but it was never gonna last, I don’t think. They … mom and dad were just different people at that point. You made us a family. You loved us when you didn’t have to.” Buck couldn’t stop the tears when Chris said that. “You still have us. We’re not going anywhere. Just like you told me.”

“I don’t know when you told him that, but it’s true.” Eddie agreed, moving and pulling Buck into a hug that Chris scooted closer to be part of, both of them offering comfort with their presence. 

“I told him that when he ran away to me when you were telling him you were dating Ana.” Buck sniffled, feeling a little bad that he was getting tears and probably snot on Eddie’s shirt. 

“Yeah, I failed pretty epically on that one.” Eddie blew out a breath, making Chris snort. 

“Why don’t you stay with us, Buck? When we get back? That way you aren’t all alone.” Chris suggested.

“I’ll think about it, ok?” Buck squeezed Chris’ hand that was still holding his. “Because I’m going to want to be around people I love and be alone at the same time for a few days.”

“Breakups suck.” Eddie and Chris agreed, making Buck chuckle a little.

“Room service!” Someone called, knocking on their door. Buck frowned before sitting up, Chris and Eddie doing the same.

“Pretty sure they don’t do room service here, especially without actually ordering it.” Eddie said, getting up and going to the door while Buck wiped his face off. “What the hell?”

“Surprise!” A woman shrieked as Eddie was wrapped in a hug. 

“Tia Adriana!” Chris said excitedly, getting up and rushing to hug his aunt. Buck stood up and waved awkwardly as Eddie’s sisters and their husbands and kids trailed in. 

“I don’t think I told you where we were staying.” Buck pointed out, rolling his eyes when Sophia hugged him again.

“Might have snaked your hotel keycard for a minute at the house.” Sophia shrugged. “Thought about keeping the card, but figured Eddie probably left the second card on the table like he usually does.” Buck couldn’t help flitting his eyes to the card that was, in fact, sitting on the table where Eddie had left it.

“Buck never loses his.” Eddie complained. “What are you guys all doing here, anyway?”

“What do you think?” Adriana rolled her eyes. “Pepa called and told us she talked to Abuela who talked to Buck, and said that you were picking Christopher up. We figured we could hang out a little, get dinner together, maybe breakfast tomorrow, before you hit the road. Just us.”

“And you didn’t all want to just crash in your parents’ house for our, uh, conversation?” Buck asked curiously.

“Sophia had us on the phone so we could hear what happened.” Adriana chuckled. “Pepa was pretty happy about what you said to them. She was also happy about her brother being supportive and not letting Mama bully Eddie into leaving Christopher here another minute longer.”

“Oh god.” Buck groaned and covered his face in embarrassment. “So you all heard what I said?”

“It was amazing.” Sophia said happily. “Still kinda can’t believe the personality change Papi has gone through since retiring and having his heart condition.”

“So what all did we miss, exactly?” Eddie looked between them in concern and Buck tipped his head back to look at the ceiling. 

“He called your parents out for forcing you to be your sisters’ parent instead of being a kid yourself.” Ricardo, Sophia’s husband, said. 

“He called mom out for using Christopher as a do-over for you.” Adriana added. Eddie’s eyes widened and he looked at Buck. Buck bit his lip and gave him an apologetic shrug. “He also called them out for forcing you and Shannon to get married just because you were having a kid. He blamed them for your issues with getting over her ghost.”

“Ramon took it better than Helena, that’s for sure.” Ricardo agreed with a snort. “Sorry you had to share trauma to get them to understand, though.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what I have an abundance of.” Buck grumbled, swatting Sophia’s hand away from his hair before he moved to have Eddie between her and him. But that put him closer to Adriana, who did it too. “Jesus, stop.” Buck moved behind Eddie to use him as a shield, but that wasn’t going to deter his sisters. Especially when Eddie ducked away and they closed in on each side of him.

“So?” Eddie asked, once he was safely across the room from his sisters, who had each latched onto both of Buck’s arms, “where are you taking us for dinner?”

“Just down the street. Thought it would be a nice evening for a walk.” Sophia shrugged. Christopher joined his dad and got his phone out, apparently taking pictures or videos of his aunts harassing Buck. Buck stuck his tongue out, making him and Eddie snicker. 

It was actually a nice evening, even if everyone primarily spoke Spanish together. Buck understood them, but he always felt self conscious when he spoke it. Which was why he usually only did it in one of the LA Diaz’s houses. He knew he spoke at a different cadence than most Spanish speakers he met in California, since he’d learned most of what he knew while in Peru. But when he tried to quietly join in the conversations, it turned into everyone wanting to know how he learned, why he learned, and where he learned. Eddie and Christopher found it entertaining, but they were mostly quiet and just enjoying sitting together, leaving Buck to fend for himself. 

Everyone took turns showering when they got back to the room before Christopher was put to bed and Buck and Eddie were too exhausted to stay up much later. Buck sent a picture of him and all the Diazes that they’d gotten someone to take for them at dinner to the 118 groupchat, along with another copy to Pepa and Abuela. Then he silenced his phone and passed out. 

The drive back was much more lively than the drive out. And filled with animated chatter from Christopher about his classes and his summer; things he could have told them but hadn’t because it wasn’t the same as telling them in person. Thankfully, the teenager didn’t say anything about Buck or his dad wiping tears away hastily. He just talked and talked and asked about calls they’d had. He asked about Denny and Mara and even Jee-Yun. When Buck finally pulled into the driveway at their house, they were all glad to be out of the car finally. 

When Chris was in bed for the night, Buck and Eddie each had a beer and dropped onto the couch with heavy sighs. It had been a very long few days; Buck knew his time was full of emotional turmoil that he’d shoved aside, but he didn’t actually know what Eddie had been doing before he’d shown up. 

“Thank you.” Eddie said quietly, rolling his head on the back of the couch to look at him. Buck frowned in confusion, which was apparently amusing to Eddie, because he huffed a small laugh and rolled his eyes. “Thank you for feeling comfortable enough to come here after your boyfriend dumped you. Thank you for talking sense into me and helping me get Christopher home. And … thank you for defending me.”

“You’re welcome.” Buck said quietly. “Even if I don’t think you need to thank me for being your friend.”

“I do though.” Eddie said certainly. “I didn’t offer and never really thought about it, when your sister invited your parents to town and forced you to have them in your life again. I should have bullied my way into it, just like you did for me. You deserve support too, Buck. So next time you have to be around them, Chris and I will be there for you.”

“I’ve only had to see them a handful of times since I was 19, Eddie.” Buck snorted. “I’m 32 now. They don’t come out here to see me. They come to see Maddie and Jee. But … I will try to let you know the next time I’m expected to see them and play nice again. I just … ok, you’ll need prepped to interact with them if the Buckley-Han’s are involved.”

“Alright?” Eddie chuckled, looking amused.

“Chim acts like an idiot.” Buck sighed. “He fully jumped into the mindset that they hate nicknames, so obviously they can’t be used around them. Even though Albert still calls me Buck, so does Maddie and Jee. But, uh, Chim goes by Howard around them and actually, honest to god, called me Evan.”

“He did not.” Eddie sat up a little more, looking irritated.

“He did.” Buck pursed his lips. “When we had dinner before the lightning strike, actually. Thought I was gonna punch him when he said it. I don’t even know why it bothered me! It doesn’t bother me when it’s Maddie or you, but anyone else? Man, I can’t stand it.”

“What about Tommy?” Eddie asked curiously. “Because I never heard him calling you Buck.”

“He did, sometimes.” Buck shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I was trying it out, seeing if I could deal with having a partner call me by my name, but it was just … I still don’t know if I like it.” 

“I’ve only called you by your name a few times.” Eddie pointed his beer at him.

“I know.” Buck nodded, before he ducked his head so Eddie wouldn’t see his face. He was pretty sure he was blushing because his cheeks felt warm. “I know, and I … I didn’t mind. I liked the way it sounded, I guess. When you said it.”

“Don’t think that means you can call me Edmundo.” Eddie said, settling back down. 

“Whatever you say, Diaz.” Buck snickered, laughing harder when Eddie threw a pillow at his face. 

It wasn’t much of a surprise to get a text that everyone was invited to come to the Wilson house for a get together the next afternoon. Everyone wanted to see Christopher and welcome him back, apparently. So they dutifully loaded into Eddie’s truck, giving the jeep a break, and headed over. Though Buck still drove because as much as Eddie never said it out loud, he was totally a passenger princess. Chris was thrilled that everyone shouted surprise when they walked in before he was pulled in and welcomed back with hugs and back pats and everything. Maddie came over and gave Buck a big hug.

“Where’s the boyfriend?” Chim asked curiously, frowning when Eddie growled at him only kind of quietly. Buck just smiled and rolled his eyes. “What?”

“He’s, uh, not in the picture anymore.” Buck admitted, and everyone sort of got quiet at the statement. Buck wanted to sink into the ground or run away, but Eddie put a hand on the small of his back and kept him in place. 

“Not that it’s our business, and we won’t bother Buck for details he doesn’t want to share.” Eddie said firmly. Buck was pretty sure he was glaring at Chimney and barely refrained from laughing, feeling more relaxed at the protectiveness. 

“Ok!” Maddie snickered, looking far too entertained by the threat than worried. “Why don’t you tell us what led to bringing Christopher home? Neither of you said anything about him being ready.”

“It wasn’t planned.” Eddie shrugged, rolling his shoulders to loosen them up again from the defensive posture he had taken up. “Buck showed up the other night, and in the morning he said we were going to get him. Then he proceeded to lay into my parents when we got to the house about how everything that happened was more or less their fault-”

“More, not less, because it was-” Buck argued.

“And Chris said he was just waiting on us to be ready to bring him home.” Eddie continued, talking over him undeterred. “Dad kept mom from arguing too much, and Sophia and Adriana have now added Buck to a groupchat with them because they find him entertaining.”

“They’re menaces.” Buck grumbled, pouting when everyone chuckled or laughed. 

“They basically adopted him.” Eddie grinned. “It was pretty funny.”

“Just what we all needed.” Hen sighed dramatically. “All the younger siblings of the 118 ganging up together with Buck.”

“Hey, Albert thinks I’m great.” Buck pointed out.

“You are.” Ravi agreed with a nod. “Once you don’t have a chainsaw in your hands.”

“One time.” Buck argued, smiling when everyone laughed happily.

“Still proving the point since you’re a middle child, Ravi.” Hen stated.

“He’s an alright older brother to inherit.” May said, smirking at Bobby who flushed a little, but Athena was smirking right along with May.

“Wait, are the rest of you saying you tolerate me because you’re all oldest kids and I remind you of your little brothers or sisters?” Buck frowned. “Aside from Hen, I mean, since she’s an only child.”

“I don’t.” Eddie shrugged.

“You don’t count.” Maddie and Buck said at the same time. “Jinx! Double jinx! Triple jinx!”

“Stop!” Eddie groaned, leaning against Buck heavily. 

“Tia Sophia had her phone on so Tia Pepa and Tia Adriana could hear what happened.” Christopher added helpfully. “Dad and I missed the beginning since he was helping me pack my clothes.”

“So what did you tell the Diaz parents, Buckeroo?” Hen asked with a crooked grin.

“Just that we wouldn’t have ever been in this mess if they hadn’t forced Eddie and Shannon to get married in the first place just because they were having a kid. They could have raised Christopher without having to get married. Because Eddie joining the Army to support them still would have happened, because Christopher would still be his dependent. And Tricare is pretty amazing insurance. There’s every chance that once Eddie was back from his final deployment that Shannon still would have left them to take care of her mom, and they still would have ended up here. But nothing would have been as messy because Eddie wouldn’t have been reeling from her asking for a divorce right before she died. Doesn’t really matter. Ramon has said that he will work on something so they can check in regularly and see how Eddie is doing as much as Christopher.”

“He also told them that dad did for his sisters what Maddie did for him.” Chris added helpfully. “About how she taught Buck to tie his shoes and stuff and dad taught Tia Adriana and Tia Sophia similar things. And it was both their parents’ fault that neither of them got to have much of a childhood.”

“You said that?” Maddie asked in surprise.

“Well, Helena was the one that said they were at least there for Shannon’s funeral and after, when I wasn’t.” Buck grumbled.

“You were in the hospital.” Hen frowned.

“I pointed that out. I pointed out that Shannon died and then I nearly died, and they were too concerned with themselves and trying to steal Christopher to have a do-over for how they fucked up with Eddie.” Buck huffed.

“You did not say that.” Chim said, looking delighted.

“Sophia said it was awesome.” Eddie snorted. “He also told them they should have done more for my PTSD when I got home.”

“They should have.” Buck affirmed. “And they should have been checking on you, as their son, after you left instead of telling you you were going to fail as a single parent. Ok, we need to change the subject or I’m gonna call them and tell them everything I forgot to mention before I was side-tracked by Ramon’s acceptance.”

“And when do I get to tell your parents the same thing?” Eddie arched an eyebrow at him, daring him to argue against it. 

“Does next month work for you?” Maddie asked innocently. “They’re coming out to have Christmas with us. After the holiday, since we already have our plan for the day of.”

“I’ll make sure Chris and I are free.” Eddie smiled.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Chim said anxiously, and was given three unimpressed looks; Maddie, Buck, and Eddie. “Don’t give me that look. Eddie just freaking growled at me for asking about Buck’s now ex-boyfriend when they came in.”

“And?” Eddie challenged. 

“And Howard doesn’t want any witnesses to him sucking up to them.” Buck added, still giving Chim an unimpressed look.

“Your name is Evan!” Chim burst out, and Eddie growled a lot louder, clear enough that everyone could hear and several people snorted or laughed.

“I introduced myself to you as Buck when we first met.” Buck argued. “We’ve never done the first name thing.”

“See that? That right there is reason enough that Eddie shouldn’t be around your parents. We’re finally on good terms with them and I’d like to stay that way.” Chim argued.

“You think you won’t be on good terms with them if I bring someone that disagrees with them?” Buck arched an eyebrow at him. “They already hate me, what’s gonna happen if Eddie comes along? Nothing will change. They’ll still dote on Jee and talk to you and Maddie as if she is their only child, like they have for years.”

“I am their only child.” Maddie scoffed. “I raised you, they didn’t. And I have been waiting for your choice to stand up to them or not. I dragged you into a tentative relationship with them again, but I’m not going to force you to stick around for it. We’ll have dinner while they’re here, and you are welcome to come, but you are also welcome to tell me you have other plans and can’t make it.”

“We’re coming.” Eddie said before Buck could open his mouth. “And Buck never lets anyone use his first name. Maddie’s his sister, so she doesn’t count since she’s known him as Evan his entire life.”

“What about you? Huh? You just called him Evan.” Chim countered, smirking when Eddie growled again. 

“You wanna compare our relationship, Chim, to me and Eddie’s?” Buck asked innocently, pumping a fist in the air internally when Chim made a horrified face.

“Yeah, Howard.” Chris chimed in, smiling slyly as everyone burst out laughing. 

“You need to calm down.” Buck said quietly to Eddie. 

“Can’t help it.” Eddie cleared his throat. “You stood up for me, now my brain is telling me it’s my turn to do it for you. We’re partners.”

“I know.” Buck grinned. “For what it’s worth, thanks.”

“I’ll try and work on that weird response to someone else calling you by a name you hate.” Eddie said reluctantly.

“It’s not that I hate it, I just … I like being Buck. Nicknames are informal substitutes for given names. They’re meant to indicate inclusion or camaraderie. Sometimes it’s a shortened version of a person’s name, like Hen. Sometimes it’s to do with a story or situation, like Chimney. When the guys I met at the academy started calling me Buck it just … it felt like being accepted. Like belonging to something. I wasn’t just Evan or Buckley. I wasn’t a kid that barely showed up to class or a star football player. And I wasn’t a nobody. I was just Buck. My parents see nicknames as childish, but that’s because they’ve never had to understand the feeling of belonging that comes with being given one. But if you’re going to call my mom Maggie or something, I need to know in advance so I can record it.”

“Noted.” Eddie laughed happily. “God, I’ve missed your info dumping for some reason.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I, uh, guess I got used to people telling me to be quiet too much lately.” Buck said sheepishly. “That kinda just came out.”

“Ok, I’ll concede to your preference having merit.” Chim sighed heavily. “But at most I’ll let you call me Howie when they’re around. Because I am not explaining my nickname after you ramble about the origins and different cultural significance associated with them being given or chosen or whatever.”

“At least they don’t call you James.” Maddie said innocently and Buck sent her a betrayed look.

“Why would they call him James?” Karen asked in confusion.

“Because it’s my middle name.” Buck groaned. “I dunno. That might be better than Evan.”

“You’d hate it.” Maddie laughed. 

“And what’s Maddie’s middle name?” Eddie asked curiously.

“Grace.” Buck and Maddie answered, linking their pinkies together. Maddie leaned her head on Buck’s shoulder and he leaned his head on top of hers. 

“So Captain America here is really the Winter Soldier in disguise?” Chim asked a little too happily for Buck’s liking. 

“We have similar names, but Eddie’s more Winter Soldier than I am. He even has the bitchy attitude.”

“Oh!” Chris exclaimed, looking far too delighted. “We can go as Captain America, the Winter Soldier, and Spider-Man for comicon!”

“We can!” Buck agreed, giving Eddie a smug smile.

“No. No; that’s just you two.” Eddie shook his head. “No! You guys go to comicon and I get to do whatever I want for those few days. That’s what we’ve done for four years now.”

“Come on, Eds! Please?” Buck pouted and even Chris joined in, giving Eddie his best pleading face.

“We’re not talking about this right now.” Eddie pursed his lips. “Buck, you know I don’t like crowds, and there’s not even anything there for me to do but wait on the two of you to do the costume contests and check out the booths. It’s at least a three day event for you.”

“Shut up.” May gasped. “How do you get into SDCC? The tickets are always expensive and sell out stupid fast.”

“Buck has a membership, so does Christopher since you have to be over 13 to have your own. Buck got it for his birthday last year, since he was just under Buck’s account before then.” Eddie grumbled. 

The rest of the evening devolved into Chris and Buck sharing what they’d done for the previous comicons they’d gone to, as well as their costumes. Buck’s favorite was still the first year they went together and dressed up as Deadpool and Kidpool. Thankfully no one else brought up Tommy again. Or the Buckley or Diaz parents. But everyone commented on how much more relaxed Eddie seemed. How much more peaceful he was. 

And if he stayed with the Diaz boys another night, then that was their business. They all agreed they were a family, so that’s all that mattered. 

<(Christmas)>

Eddie’s parents had come up for Christmas, instead than expecting all of their kids to come home to them. Rather than making them get a hotel, Buck offered to let them stay in his loft. Telling Eddie it was a show of good faith because his mom could snoop through Buck’s things and feel better that she was able to more or less spy on him. He did hide a few things in his closet, but he didn’t really care if they were found. As a joke, he left the cleaner he had for some of his accessories. When Buck had told Eddie that detail, Chris had cackled from the other room, apparently eavesdropping, while Eddie just buried his face in his hands. 

“Wait, you don’t think they’ll use any of it, do you?” Buck asked curiously.

“God I hope not.” Eddie groaned into his hands. “And if so, I hope I never hear about it.”

“Ok, like you don’t have a box of fun things hidden somewhere.” Buck shook his head.

“I don’t.” Eddie argued, looking at Buck finally. 

“What? Why not?” Buck frowned. “Your sexual health is important-”

“We are not discussing my sexual health with my teenager in the next room.” Eddie cut him off. “No, I don’t have any kind of toys or accessories, and no, I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Buck wobbled his head as he agreed. “But as human beings, that release is important for our mental and emotional health. The hormones and chemicals released after an orgasm help give a certain level of clarity and balance. I was always able to think more clearly after sex.” 

“Really?” Eddie frowned. “I never felt that.”

“Ok, but that was before you started on more intensive therapy and realized you were demi.” Buck pointed out. “Being demisexual means you have to have that emotional bond already before you really get the release or catharsis afterwards.”

“So I didn’t feel the same thing you did because it was just a performance.” Eddie nodded to himself. “That makes a lot more fucking sense.”

“You gotta build that with someone before you’ll feel what other people do, Eds. I just really like sex; have since I started doing it. It’s also why Chim harasses me about being a slut way back when. I didn’t need that emotional or intellectual connection. The people I was with just wanted sex, like me. A temporary physical connection. Scratching an itch, really.”

“There are a lot of different sexualities out there.” Chris said, dropping in a seat at the table, apparently tired of just eavesdropping. “It’s crazy that these weren’t things that were talked about for your generation.”

“I agree.” Buck smiled when Chris rolled his eyes. “But your dad grew up in the midwest. An area frequently called the bible belt. And I grew up just outside of Amish country. Both pretty strictly religious and hetero.”

“Good thing we’re in LA.” Chris nodded. “It’s cool that you get to try out different things until you find what feels right.”

“True that.” Buck agreed, bumping Chris’ fist and smiling as he laughed, even Eddie was fighting a smile. 

“Ok, I think we’ve managed to delay enough it should be safe for us to go over.” Eddie said, looking at his watch. 

“Yeah, I guess.” Buck sighed. 

“I’ll distract Jee when someone inevitably gets upset.” Chris nodded.

“Alright, we can do this.” Buck took a deep breath when he stood up. Eddie and Chris loaded up into the jeep along with him and they headed to Maddie’s place. They talked quietly and the familiarity of it helped Buck relax more. 

It had only been a month since Chris had come back, but Eddie and Buck hadn’t really been able to handle much separation. So Buck had been staying with them at least a few nights a week, especially on days when Eddie had therapy or they had a family session. Because the three of them were doing therapy together and Buck initially felt really bad that one of the first things pointed out to both Eddie and Christopher was that they had both put Buck in the middle of their arguments. Whether it was about juice or toast or even what they were doing for the day as far as an outing to the zoo or something went. They’d both felt pretty guilty when a lot of what they’d done together was examined with that new information. Eddie had been in tears when he apologized for not considering how much Buck must have been hurting when Chris left him as much as he’d left Eddie. Chris had been just as teary when he apologized for cutting him out because he’d just expected Buck would take care of his dad. 

Buck and Eddie grabbed the gifts from the back of the car while they headed up the steps to the front door. Chris didn’t even knock, just walked in, which Maddie had said to do, anyway. So Buck kicked the door shut as they all took off their shoes before going toward the dining room. Jee squealed, spotting them first and running full speed at Buck’s legs. 

“Unca Buck!”

“Hey, baby.” Buck chuckled, leaning down and scooping her up in his arms. “Were you a big helper for mom today?”

“Yeah! We made your special cookies.” She said happily. 

“Hey!” Maddie said, laughing as she came out of the kitchen to hug them. “I see she found her favorite uncle.”

“Uncle Eddie!” Jee cheered, making Buck laugh and Eddie smile happily, passing Maddie the presents before stealing her from Buck. 

“It’s ok, we all know Eddie’s the pretty one of the two of us.” Buck shrugged, taking the other gifts and putting them on the table. 

“Pretty Eddie.” Jee agreed, making them all laugh again. 

“Thank you, princess.” Eddie kissed her cheek noisily. 

“Oh. Who is this?” Buck and Maddie’s mom asked as she came in, their dad following, looking equally confused.

“This is my partner, Eddie, and our son Christopher.” Buck introduced. “I did the holiday with them at Eddie’s with his parents and sisters, so they are here for a holiday with mine.”

“I thought I told you I was inviting Buck and his family.” Maddie said innocently. 

“I think we’d remember if you said Evan had a family.” Dad said, clearing his face off and smiling at Eddie and Chris before holding a hand out. “I’m Phillip, this is Margaret.”

“Eddie.” Eddie introduced himself.

“Is that short for anything?” Buck’s mom asked with a slight twitch to her eye already. 

“Nothing I’ll answer too.” Eddie smiled, the same way he had when Buck had asked him his first day if he went by Diaz. “Chris, why don’t you go find and harass Chim?”

“On it.” Chris said, chuckling as he crutched around Buck’s parents toward the kitchen. 

“Does he need help with anything?” Buck’s mom asked worriedly.

“Nah, he’s an independent 14 year old.” Buck shrugged. “And he always has fun pestering Chim.”

“You should be helping him, Evan.” His mom hissed.

“He doesn’t need help.” Eddie cut in, arching an eyebrow at her. “He’s 14. His CP isn’t gonna stop him. Buck and Maddie have accepted that about him since they met him.”

“You’re not worried he might hurt himself?” Buck’s dad asked, looking back toward the kitchen worriedly. 

“You’re welcome to check on him and Chim if you want.” Maddie offered, still looking at their parents innocently.

“Can Chris play?” Jee asked suddenly.

“You gotta ask him to play.” Eddie chuckled. “Why don’t you go bug your cousin, huh?”

“Yeah!” Jee cheered squirming until Eddie put her down and she ran towards the kitchen. 

“Where is Christopher’s mother?” Buck’s dad asked, clearing his throat, though still glancing back to the kitchen occasionally.

“She died a few years back.” Eddie admitted. “Buck’s been with us longer than she ever was.”

“Buck, come get your son!” Chim shouted. Buck snorted and bumped Eddie’s shoulder before heading for the kitchen to find Chris holding a massive thing of frosting over a batch of cookies, ready to be decorated, aside from the look in his eyes. He looked ready to decimate the cookies with frosting.

“What’d you say?” Buck asked curiously, trying not to grin at Chim. 

“Nothing!” Chim exclaimed, holding a squirming Jee back. “I didn’t, I swear, but this kid is devious, just like you!”

“He’s my other dad, so it’s only fair.” Chris said, covering a cookie entirely with frosting before moving to the next one. “What’s his name?”

“Buck! Ok? His name is Buck!” Chim said hurriedly, giving a mock bow. “I will not slip again, sir Christopher.”

“I hope not.” Chris said challengingly before setting the frosting down and backing away from the cookies while Chim finally put Jee down and she ran to Chris, taking his hand and bouncing beside him as they went to her room. 

“I forgot how much of a brat like you he was.” Chim sighed.

“He just likes when people accept my nickname.” Buck shrugged. “He doesn’t like when people bully me.”

“He hates it.” Eddie argued, joining them with Maddie and their parents. “He gave my parents the same lecture on the importance of nicknames that Buck gave everyone here last month.”

“I’m confused, is Christopher Buck’s son or Eddie’s?” Buck’s mom asked, truly looking confused.

“Both.” Maddie, Buck, and Eddie answered. 

“Biologically, Eddie’s, emotionally, both.” Chim corrected. “Buck was the first one who knew Eddie had a kid when he started at the firehouse with us. He’s also the one who got them a home aide and good school and all that crazy stuff that somehow turned the kid into a genius with one dad’s petty streak, and his other dad’s research habits.”

“You’re welcome.” Buck and Eddie smiled, but Maddie and Chim laughed. 

“And what is your family doing for the holiday, Eddie?” Buck’s dad asked, clearing his throat as they all went to sit at the table. They were just having coffee and desserts since they’d all been working and got off later than expected. 

“Right now my parents are at the loft, hopefully not being too snoopy.” Eddie grinned at Buck.

“I dunno.” Buck wobbled his head, also grinning. “I still think it’d be funny.”

“They aren’t staying with you?” Buck’s mom frowned.

“My place is only two bedrooms, so there isn’t really any room for them with us. Buck’s staying with us and offered his loft so they wouldn’t have to get a hotel.” Eddie shrugged. 

“I’m sorry, I have to ask, since when are you gay, Evan?” Buck’s mom asked, finally, with a small huff. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’ve always had girlfriends.”

“I’m bi.” Buck shrugged. “I like both.”

“Pretty sure me and you guys are the only straight ones here. Chris is still to be determined since he is 14.” Maddie admitted.

“And we’ll support him whichever way he goes.” Chim added, smiling at Maddie like she was his sun. Buck faked gagging, earning him an exasperated sigh from his sister and her husband, but Eddie snickered beside him. “Watch him end up being the straight Diaz in your household.”

“He’s had a girlfriend, but he’s told me recently he’s pretty much only interested in girls so far.” Eddie nodded. “It wouldn’t surprise me. But it’s the Buckley-Diaz household, not just Diaz.”

“You got the house?” Maddie asked excitedly. 

“We did!” Buck exclaimed happily. Everyone knew they’d been looking at houses since they spent so much time together, but they were still waiting to hear back about their offer before the holidays. They’d found out just before Christmas day that they were approved and the house was theirs.

“Oh that’s so great!” Maddie got up and hugged both of them while Chim gave them high fives. 

“I cannot wait for your housewarming.” Chim snickered.

“It won’t be until mid to end of January.” Eddie argued. “We were hoping to have it done before now, but we’re still happy it’s finally happening.”

“You bought a house?” Buck’s dad asked, a small smile on his face. “That’s wonderful.”

“We got Chris his own bathroom as requested, so that’ll be nice.” Buck ducked his head, still smiling. 

“So you’re both bisexual?” Buck’s mom asked, gesturing between him and Eddie when Maddie sat back down.

“Demi.” Eddie admitted. “Which makes a lot of sense looking back.”

“I’m not familiar with that label.” Buck’s mom looked at everyone for some sort of sign or help.

“Just means Eds has to have a strong bond with someone before he can be in a relationship. Emotional and intellectual.” Buck clarified, taking pity on her. “He was really good friends with his wife before they were in a serious relationship.”

“Shannon was my best friend, but we were forced to get married by our families when we found out about Chris.” Eddie added. “Anyway, we’ll be setting up a party of some kind later on. After we’re settled in.”

“Three bedrooms, two baths, nice big kitchen.” Buck said happily. “Except Eddie’s sisters are already arguing over who gets to come stay with us first.”

“How will you have room?” Buck’s dad asked, frowning. “If you have more bedrooms … unless you have something else to confess tonight?”

“No, no other confessions.” Buck snorted. His dad looked like he was fighting a grimace as much as his mom was. Which made him half tempted to just say ‘fuck it’ and he and Eddie were together that way. “We just know that once we have three actual bedrooms, regardless of who’s sleeping where, the Diaz siblings are going to converge and take over the third room.”

“I just- I don’t understand.” Mom said, shaking her head and looking like she was really struggling with something. “We’ve visited several times and this is the first time we hear that you have a family?”

“My choice.” Buck said carefully. “We hadn’t talked in over a decade by the time you first came out. I left at 19 and you never once called or emailed, nothing. I have had the same cell phone number since I was 15. And then Maddie was here, and I called for the first time since I got to LA. I left a message with her number so you could talk to her. I wasn’t sure if you had it or not at that point, when she was hurt, but I knew you’d never done that for me; and she deserved better. I was here, solidly in LA, for three years before Maddie got here. And another two before she was having a baby and you came out. You were getting your first grandchild, so you wanted to be here to be involved. Even if she threw in that I was in therapy and that was part of why you needed to come.”

“I apologized for that.” Maddie pointed out, reaching over and squeezing his hand. “When I got here, Buck never told me that you weren’t talking. I asked that he not tell you I was here or what was really going on, but I never thought about him shrugging it off.”

“Our first dinner together in a decade was spent with both of you making underhanded comments toward Maddie about Doug or about how she was in her late 30s and having a baby. I was anxious and I didn’t realize it until later, but looking back at it, I … I do something pretty similar, I guess. I say the first thing in my head and it may or may not be nice.”

“You’re getting better.” Eddie shrugged. “But I’ve always been able to interpret what you mean versus what you say.”

“And when I say something mean, I say it accidentally. Unintentionally. Because I’m excited or I don’t actually realize it’s mean until Maddie or Eddie points it out to me. They tell me that what I said could have been worded differently or spoken in a different tone. When you were saying mean things, you were just sitting there the whole time, smiling, like it was just a fact. Which it was, but you said you had done some counseling to deal with what happened. Cool. That doesn’t make what happened an appropriate light dinner conversation.”

“What else?” Dad asked, sounding exasperated by it all.

“You had no right to lie to him.” Eddie said firmly, getting defensive. “You were grieving your child, I get that, I do, but you made it so he felt like it was his fault. Maddie raised her brother while you were forgetting he existed.”

“Eddie.” Buck said gently. Eddie took a breath and cracked his neck before just sitting back. Buck turned back to face his parents. “I know you don’t like me.”

“That’s not true.” Mom argued, even dad was frowning.

“You don’t.” Buck said firmly. “Because you know nothing about me that Maddie hasn’t told you. Maddie had a baby box. I’m sure Daniel had one, too. But you didn’t make one for me because you didn’t want me. You wanted me to heal Daniel. Eddie and I have been partners at the firehouse since before Maddie showed up. Not by much, but still. I knew about Christopher before anyone at the firehouse did. And everyone met Maddie around the same time.”

“It was a pretty good shock.” Chim pitched in. “We honestly thought Buckeroo was some kid that was raised in the wild or something.”

“Mads?”

“On it.” Maddie got up and got the box out of her room and set it on the table in front of their parents. “This is … it’s not everything, but it’s a lot of what Buck did after he left. He spent five, almost six, years just going all over the country and even out of it. When I got here, he absorbed me back in as if I hadn’t abandoned him. I think you should look through this. Maybe get to know part of what made Evan Buck.”

“So you’ve been partners for … how long?” Dad asked, clearing his throat and opening the box.

“Seven years.” Eddie nodded. “Buck was a massive brat when I started.”

“Hey.” Buck pouted at him, but Eddie just smiled. 

“I can’t even explain why but I just followed him around. I riled him up and got under his skin. I had to. Don’t even know why. Everyone else was nice enough and very welcoming. But I didn’t feel accepted until I had Buck on my side. All it took was getting a grenade out of a guy together. Pretty sure there are days where Bobby regrets bringing me in to be his partner, but we’re a good team. As soon as Buck knew about Christopher, as soon as they met, they were pretty much inseparable. We’ve been in a lot of family therapy, because somehow my son and I pulled Buck in, put him in the role of secondary parent, and we never realized it. I relied on him for everything, still do. Chris does the same. People always try to judge or guess or whatever our relationship is. But that’s our business. So Buck never told you he had a family because he was supposed to have had that with you, not just his sister. Telling you could have led to you deciding you needed to know about us. I am petty and bitchy and insensitive to anyone’s feelings aside from Christopher’s or Buck’s. He called my parents out last month for things they had done and were doing, and he allowed me to come here and be part of doing the same for you. We are trying to move forward. To do that, we needed to clear the air, so to speak. He’s my partner. So if you really want to be in his life, to know who he is, fine. But you won’t make him feel guilty for not saving your other son. He may have been born to save one, but he’s saved hundreds more people, sons and brothers included, as a firefighter. And I think that’s … that’s pretty special.”

Buck waited, but his parents were busy looking through the postcards. They weren’t going to respond for a little while, so Chris talked animatedly about his Christmas with the Diaz family and getting back into the school curriculum in LA and how much more he liked it when he and Jee rejoined them. Maddie and Buck’s parents were pretty quiet the rest of the night. But Eddie was talking to them on the porch while Buck was getting Chris in the truck. He managed to shake their hands before getting in so they could head home. Chris went straight to the bathroom to brush his teeth and go to bed when they were back. 

“What all did you say to them?” Buck asked quietly when they were laying in bed.

“Just that they were going to take time to get to know your journey before they demanded any sort of family time from us.” Eddie said just as quietly. “You deserve to be treated well.”

“I know.” Buck agreed. “Thanks for letting me say what I needed to say.”

“Of course.” Eddie smiled. Buck could hear it in his voice. “Get some sleep, Buck.”

“Night, Eds.”

“Night, cariño.” Eddie whispered. Buck was really glad it was dark so Eddie couldn’t see him flushing. If he kept calling Buck endearments randomly, then it was going to break Buck’s resolve to be a solid friend and nothing more. “I can feel you blushing from here.” Eddie chuckled. 

“Shut up.” Buck grumbled, rolling to his stomach and hiding his face in his pillow. 

“Awe.” Eddie teased, rolling over and leaning closer to him. “You never say anything when I call you things in Spanish. You just blush and duck your head. Hiding away. Do you not like it?”

“I do.” Buck argued, though it was muffled through the pillow. “Probably too much. You keep saying shit and I’m gonna tackle you to the nearest surface.”

“Oh yeah? Mi corazón.” Eddie breathed, right by his ear. “Mi sol, mi vida.”

“Oh my god,” Buck groaned before pinning Eddie to the bed, breathing him in for a second. Eddie’s eyes were challenging, though. Buck never backed down from a challenge. “Wanna taste the way you say that.”

“Mi amor.” Eddie said, and Buck … Buck wasn’t responsible for pushing his tongue into Eddie’s mouth right then to taste the words on Eddie’s. He was responsible for the groans both of them let out, but he sort of couldn’t think anymore. His brain was quiet and Eddie was digging his fingers into Buck’s back needily. “Nosotros éramos inevitables.” Eddie murmured against his lips before flipping Buck onto his back. Buck just groaned again as Eddie pinned him and held his hands above his head. 

“It should have been you.” Buck gasped. “You should have been the one to kiss me, to make me realize.”

“You’re never kissing anyone else again.” Eddie growled, biting Buck’s lip before sucking on it. “Ahora me perteneces.” 

Buck honestly didn’t even care what Eddie just said, because whatever it was, he completely agreed. They were buying a house together, moving in together, as a family. Because Buck was Eddie’s partner and Eddie was Buck’s. 

They were inevitable.