Chapter Text
Eddie has several regrets in life. Running when Chris was a baby, not running after Shannon when she left, repressing his true feelings about his best friend for the better part of seven years – just to name a few.
Admitting to Buck that he’s never been to Disneyland? Well, the jury’s still out on that one.
It had come about in such a bizarre way, and Eddie hadn’t even thought about it when he said it.
The members of the 118 were on their way back from a call where a man had somehow gotten himself stuck in a small-scale train he had built himself in his backyard. So, naturally, Buck was animatedly going on about how Walt Disney was so obsessed with trains that he had one in his own backyard and insisted that Disneyland had a train encircling the entire park when it was built.
“I mean, I’m sure you’ve all been on it, but there’s something so magical about taking the train for a full loop and being able to feel the history,” Buck went on into his headset. Bobby and Hen nodded in agreement while Chim and Ravi murmured their support.
“I’ve never actually been to Disneyland, but it sounds cool,” Eddie shrugged.
Buck whipped his head around to stare at Eddie with wide blue eyes. “What?!”
Eddie truly hadn’t expected such a dramatic reaction – though, maybe he should have, it was Buck after all.
“I mean I’d love to take Christopher one day, we’ve just never gotten around to it. He was always going to some party or sleepover on my days off – he’s a pretty popular kid. And now…” Eddie trailed off, not wanting to bring the mood down by reminding everyone of the fact that his kid was in El Paso instead of here, in LA, with him.
After a beat of silence, Buck spoke up, not wanting Eddie to dwell. “Well, we are absolutely going to fix this. Next time we all have a 72 off in the middle of the week, we’re taking a 118 trip to Disneyland.”
Bobby, Hen, Ravi, and Chimney all voiced their agreement as the engine pulled into the station.
“Why specifically during the middle of the week?” Eddie asked Buck as they hopped out of the engine.
“Kids are in school and adults are working, so it’s less crowded,” Buck replied, as if he were trying to explain to someone why you have to put your socks on before your shoes.
So, that’s why Eddie is currently in the car with Bobby and Buck while a second car with Hen, Chimney, and Ravi trails behind them. He’s not mad about it – he’ll probably have a great time! But Buck has had this look in his eye for the entire car ride – it’s like he’s a child that’s just been given the keys to a candy shop – and Eddie is scared to do or say anything to dim that look.
So while Buck rambles on with all of his “Disney tips and tricks” and his suggestions for what he thinks Eddie MUST do during their trip, Eddie nods along and tries his best to take mental notes…even if a lot of what he’s saying sounds like gibberish (what the hell is an incredicoaster and why the fuck is there a haunted mansion in a kid’s amusement park?).
It only takes about an hour to get from their meeting point (Bobby’s house) to their hotel. As they pull into the parking lot of the Grand Californian, Eddie has to admit that his jaw does drop a little. It’s a magnificent hotel that’s both grandiose and rustic at the same time, with what looks to be hundreds of rooms and a grand entrance surrounded by a beautiful archway.
The 118 walk into the lobby so they can get their room keys, eager to unpack and start their mini-vacation.
Bobby, always the man in charge, hands off the room keys to each of the pairs; Hen and Chimney get room 319, Eddie and Buck get room 317, and Ravi and Bobby get room 315.
As they roll their suitcases into the elevators, Bobby gives a rundown of the plan for the evening.
“Alright, I want you all to unpack and settle in, and then we’ll meet in the lobby at 4:30 to figure out our dinner plan, sound good?”
The 118 all affirm they understand the plan and walk into each of their respective rooms once the elevator reaches their floor.
Buck pushes their door open with a flourish and quickly steps out of the way so Eddie can be ushered inside.
Their room is simple, yet it has a quiet luxury about it. There are two queen-sized beds, a TV on top of a dark wooden dresser, and a large bathroom with a walk-in shower.
“You get the bed by the window,” Buck insists, already starting to unpack. Eddie begins to protest when Buck interrupts - “I won’t hear any of it. This is your first time here, and you deserve the view.”
Eddie looks up at Buck from across the room with a fond smile on his face. “Thanks, Buck.”
Buck makes eye contact and silently responds with his own smile. The two continue unpacking their things into the singular small closet and shared dresser in a comfortable silence. When he’s done, Buck flops onto his bed with an arm over his head.
After a few minutes, once he’s put away his toiletries and checked his own bed for bedbugs, Eddie starts fiddling with his phone.
“Hey Buck?” Eddie asks after a pause.
“Mmm?” Buck responds, lifting his arm away from his face and looking sideways at Eddie.
“Do you mind if I give Chris a call? I’ll be quiet I swear, I just thought he might like to see the room, and we’ve got a little over fifteen minutes to kill, so…” Eddie trails off.
Buck immediately sits up. “Oh yeah, man I’d love to see Chris! It’s been a couple days since we last FaceTimed,” Buck replies eagerly, making his way over to where Eddie’s sitting on the edge of his bed.
“You looked like you were gonna take a quick power nap,” Eddie teases, still fidgeting with his phone. He’s stalling, nervous, and Buck can tell.
So Buck goes along with it, trying to ease Eddie’s nerves – it breaks his heart that his best friend is still so worried about calling his son, afraid he’s going to say something wrong and make things worse somehow. “Nah, Chris is way more important. Now c’mon, I need to show him our view before we have to meet everyone back in the lobby.”
Eddie takes a deep breath as he pulls up Chris’s contact and hits the FaceTime icon. For a moment that seems to stretch on forever, Eddie’s face is the only one filling the screen. Then, when he thinks he can’t take it anymore, Chris appears.
Eddie immediately breaks out into a cautious but genuine grin at the sight of his son. “Hey Christopher!”
“Hi dad,” Chris says, not quite subdued, but not enthusiastically.
“We have a few minutes before we have to meet up with everyone to figure out dinner plans, so I thought I’d call to show you our room. Buck’s here!” Eddie, with no warning, turns the phone so Buck’s face appears on Chris’s screen.
Buck waves with a giant grin on his face – if he had a tail, it would be wagging. “Hey Superman! We wish you were here with us!”
Christopher pulls a face that’s somewhere between a smile and a grimace as he does every time someone calls him that now; he’s clearly in that teenager phase where he still secretly loves to be reminded of these special memories but has to pretend to be too cool for such silly things as childhood nicknames. “Yeah,” he grumbles, “I can’t believe you guys are there without me.”
Eddie’s face drops. He and Buck exchange a quick, panicked glance before Eddie hurriedly turns the phone back to his own face.
“Chris, if you ever want to come to Disneyland, just say the word and I’ll take you,” Eddie rushes out, worried he’s somehow made things worse in his relationship with his son by doing something fun without him.
“We’ll take you,” Buck chimes in off-screen.
Chris makes a noncommittal hum, looking down at something on the desk in front of him and seeming to disengage. Eddie feels his heart racing and turns to Buck with wide eyes, a clear cry for help.
Buck silently reaches for the phone, reassurance in his eyes as they meet Eddie’s. Eddie passes him the phone.
“Hey Chris, lemme show you our awesome view!” he starts, getting off the bed and walking over to the small balcony. “We’ve got primo eyes on the pool. We haven’t been yet, but look how cool…” Buck’s voice trails off as he steps outside to give Chris a proper view of the pool below.
Eddie flops backward onto the bed, covering his face with his hands. He lets out a soft groan, unsure of how things could have gone so wrong so suddenly.
Things with Chris had been getting better, he thought, slowly. One night, Eddie had finally broken through, and they had a proper talk about why Chris had left in the first place. It was difficult, and there were tears, but they were both honest – Eddie, about how much he knew he had messed up and how deeply he missed his son; Chris, about how he still didn’t feel ready to come back to LA.
Lately, they FaceTimed more often, and sometimes there would even be a proper conversation flowing between them, both parties participating (almost) equally. Nevertheless, there were times, like this, where things seemed stilted, cold, like Chris was shutting him out all over again. Could that just be typical teenage mood swings? Sure. But, in true Eddie fashion, he believed every time that he must have done something wrong.
Eddie gives his face a few more exasperated rubs before he sits back up as Buck comes back in from the balcony. The call had already been disconnected, Eddie’s phone screen blank.
Buck gently closes the balcony doors behind him and carefully walks up to Eddie, phone in his hand, outstretched. He rubs the back of his neck as he passes the phone back to its owner, and Eddie looks downcast as he pockets it.
“Sorry he didn’t say goodbye before hanging up,” Buck says awkwardly. “We both noticed the time and just – wrapped things up.”
Eddie gives a small, sad nod.
“Hey,” Buck stoops so he’s eye-level with Eddie, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Eddie cautiously looks up, meeting Buck’s earnest eyes and melting slightly into his touch. “He told me to tell you he loves you, to have fun for him, and that he’d like to talk again soon.”
The relief that washes over Eddie is palpable. His eyes shine and he twists his lips into a half smile, maintaining eye contact with Buck as he nods to himself.
“That’s –" he clears his throat “ – that’s good, right?” Buck encouragingly nods in response. “Thank you, Buck,” Eddie adds softly.
A gentle smile crosses Buck’s face. “For what?” he asks.
Eddie covers the hand that’s still on his shoulder with his own. “For talking to him. For being here. For doing what you always do,” he says simply.
“Always,” Buck replies quietly, rubbing his thumb along Eddie’s shoulder.
They stay like that for a few minutes in a steady, charged silence, neither willing or able to break eye contact. No more words need to be exchanged.
They’re both startled all too soon by the alarm on Buck’s phone going off, breaking the tension in the air.
It’s 4:30 pm – time to meet the others in the lobby.
“Are we sure this is the restaurant we want to go to?” Buck asks nervously as he taps a few times on his phone screen.
The 118 had gathered around a small table in the lobby, all sitting in comfortable, plush chairs, to decide in which direction their night was going to go. That started with dinner.
Miraculously, after only a brief discussion of the various table service options available, everyone had agreed on Naples Ristorante E Bar as the place to go. They also all agreed that Buck should be the one to try to get them a last-minute reservation, since he was the most familiar with the Disneyland app.
“Buck, it’s a miracle that we all agreed on one place, period – what are you doing?” Hen asks, looking at him as if he just suggested they fly to the moon for dinner.
“Yeah man, now that we decided on Italian, my heart is SET on Italian,” Chimney chimes in from across the table.
“Is there something wrong with the restaurant, Buck?” Bobby questions, trying to get the group back on track.
Buck looks up at Bobby, mouth twisted to the side in a slight frown. “No Cap, there’s nothing wrong with it, in fact I know the food there is great, it’s just…” Buck sighs. “It’s a pretty popular place. So the only reservations they have left so last-minute are late.” Buck looks back down at his phone and scrolls a bit. “But if we wanted to go to Paseo, for example, there are reservation slots open almost every twenty minutes from now until close.”
“Well, how late is late?” Bobby asks.
“The earliest they have available isn’t until 8:00 pm,” Buck answers, looking apologetic, as if he were somehow responsible for all of the other reservation slots being booked.
Bobby looks around at his team. “I don’t mind that as long as everyone else is okay with it. We can just explore the shops beforehand and then turn in after. What do you all think?”
“Fine by me,” says Hen.
Eddie and Chimney nod their consent.
“I mean I’m hungry now, but I just see this as an excuse to eat a churro or something now as a bit of a dinner pre-game,” Ravi responds with a shrug and a grin.
Buck smiles with relief. “Alright, I’ll book the reservation.”
The six members of 118’s A-shift all stick together as they roam around Downtown Disneyland. Ravi quickly convinces them all to stop at a churro cart selling various fun flavors of churros, “as a dinner pre-game” he re-states with a satisfied smirk.
Buck leans over and takes a bite out of Eddie’s churro as the group walks toward World of Disney. Eddie sends a glare his way while Buck just smiles with cinnamon sugar coating his lips.
“I told you you’d want one,” Eddie says with a sigh, moving the sweet treat to his other hand, out of Buck’s reach.
Buck sticks out his bottom lip in a pout. “I only wanted a bite,” he explains around the mouthful of churro, spewing out a few crumbs as he speaks.
“Say it, don’t spray it,” Hen murmurs from behind him. Buck flips her off over his shoulder without turning around.
“What she said,” Eddie replies. “And I hope you enjoyed your bite.” He shoves the rest of the churro in his mouth, barely able to fit it all in and yet still able to muster a cheeky smile in Buck’s direction.
Buck’s own glare doesn’t last for long as they enter the World of Disney shop. Instead, his eyes shine with wonder as he wanders off to look at the merchandise lining the walls.
“Keep an eye on the group chat!” Bobby calls after him. Buck turns around to give him a quick salute before turning back to the spirit jerseys he’s started parsing through. Bobby addresses the rest of the group, “That goes for you all, too. We can spend as long as we want here, but we need to make sure we give ourselves enough time to get to the restaurant for our reservation. If everyone’s done early, we can do something else.”
If Bobby is acting a bit like a chaperone with a group of kids on a field trip, well…it may be necessary. Sometimes, keeping track of this group really is like herding cats.
“You got it, Cap,” Chimney replies. The rest of the group nods or murmurs their agreement before splitting off and wandering in different directions around the store.
Eddie considers following after Buck, but he glances around and no longer sees him. Instead, he decides to take a look at the wall of ears that have caught his attention. He’s never worn a headband before, and never planned to, but the intricate designs draw him in regardless.
He has no idea how long he’s spent looking at each design, but he’s just about to reach for a simple pair of rose gold sequinned ears when he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. Instead of the ears, he grabs his phone.
[Private Messaging: Buck and Eddie]
Buck:
EDDIE i’ve found the perfect thing
Eddie:
Oh my god.
Where are you?
Buck:
i’m over by the stuffed animals
there’s a whole wall of ‘em
Eddie:
Buck, I see no walls of stuffed animals.
Buck:
it’s just past the haunted mansion merch
~~incoming call from Eddie~~
“Sup,” Buck answers.
“Buck, you know damn well I have no idea what ‘Haunted Mansion merch' is.”
“Ok, well maybe I can find you and then we can make our way back here. I think there’s a lot of stuff you’d like!”
“I’m by the wall of ears? I have no idea how close that is to you.”
“Which wall of ears?”
“...there’s more than one??”
“I think so? This is a pretty huge store, Eds.”
Eddie lets out a deep sigh. “I dunno, it’s close to where we came in.”
“THAT wall?? Eddie, you’ve barely even entered the store!”
“Sorry? I got distracted, these are kinda cool.”
“Nah, I get it. I’ve never been into the ears myself, they don’t feel great with how they sit behind my ears, but maybe we should get you a pair!”
Eddie makes a noncommittal noise as he glances back at the rose gold pair he had been considering trying on.
“I’ll be there in a sec.” Buck hangs up.
Eddie sighs as he pockets his phone, looking back at the wall of ears one last time before stepping out into the aisle so he’s more visible to Buck, regardless of whichever direction he’s coming from.
Buck practically skips up to him about two minutes later, a big smile on his face and a sweatshirt already draped over one arm. He wordlessly grabs Eddie’s wrist and essentially drags him through the store, walking back to his previous destination with purpose.
“Look!” he declares, gesturing toward, as he had claimed, a wall of stuffed animals. Eddie can see the plush Buck sent him a picture of, but there are so many more than just that. Off to his left, Eddie recognizes the standard characters that he’s watched with Christopher over the years - Simba, Stitch, Joy, etc. Directly in front of him, however, is a collection of somewhat familiar characters. However, they’re a little…off.
“Buck, what exactly are these?” Eddie asks, turning his head toward the other man.
“They’re called Munchlings!” Buck declares with a level of excitement only matched by Christopher’s when he gets a new video game. “They’re a mish-mash of Disney characters and different foods!”
Eddie turns back to the wall of plushies with a small smile on his face, overwhelmed by the energy radiating off of Buck. He picks up what looks like Mickey Mouse with ice cream on his ear and turns it over in his hands before gently placing it back in its spot. He has to admit, while silly, the toys are quite endearing.
He feels rather than sees Buck step closer behind him, his warmth sending shivers down his spine. Buck holds up the small Winnie the Pooh plush with a dollop of whipped cream on its head. “I thought Chris might like this one,” he admits in a hushed tone, warm breath ghosting over Eddie’s neck. “I know he’s a teenager now, and he might think it’s silly, but I know he loved Winnie the Pooh when he was little.”
Eddie takes a deep breath, shaky on the exhale, ignoring the way his stomach flips. “I think he’d really love that, especially coming from you.” He reaches out to hold the plush and examine it closer, a jolt of electricity passing through their fingers as they touch. Before he can give the feeling too much thought, the warmth of Buck’s body is gone and he feels his shoulders sag from released tension.
Buck sidesteps around Eddie to the area on the wall with the rest of the Munchlings, examining the little plushes carefully. He plucks two off the shelf and turns to Eddie with a grin, holding them out in front of him.
“Look, they’re us!” Buck declares with glee. Eddie takes a moment to evaluate what’s in front of him. Buck is holding out two more Munchlings - one, a round brown one that looks like a deer, and the other a rectangle that vaguely resembles a white robot.
Eddie bites back a smile as he looks up at Buck. “And you’re gonna make me guess which is which, right?”
“Yup!” Buck’s eyes twinkle, his grin widening ever so slightly.
“Buck, I don’t even know what those are .”
“Ok fine, I’ll help you out a bit,” Buck rolls his eyes playfully. “This one,” he holds up the first one slightly, “is Bambi as chocolate ice cream. And this one,” he raises the other one, “is Baymax as tiramisu.”
Eddie purses his lips and narrows his eyes at the toys, eventually deciding that he does see the resemblance to what Buck described in both plushes. His eyes return to Buck’s eagerly awaiting face. “Why am I Bambi?” he concedes.
Buck blushes slightly as he answers Eddie, albeit while dropping his eyes to the ground. “I dunno man, sometimes you remind me of a deer. I think it might be your big, brown eyes or something.”
Now it's Eddie's turn to blush. He feels that swoop in his stomach again, but he's not sure why.
“That one's also you because of how much you like chocolate,” Buck adds on quickly.
Eddie gives a small nod. “Makes sense,” he chuckles. “And you're the Baymax one because you've been on a tiramisu kick recently, yeah?”
“Well that and, like him, I'm large but also soft and cuddly,” Buck grins with all his teeth.
Eddie rolls his eyes with a soft smile in Buck’s direction. “I guess you could say that.” He holds his free hand out so Buck can give him the two plushes. Eddie looks at the three he’s now cradling in his hands. “Hm. I guess you could say this is our little family, huh?”
Buck’s eyes widen slightly as he makes eye contact with Eddie. “Uh, y-yeah, for sure,” he agrees with a slight upturn of his lips. “So -” he clears his throat, “how about we keep looking to make sure there’s nothing else we wanna get?”
Eddie nods, keeping hold of the three little Munchlings in his hands as he follows Buck around to another section of the store.
About an hour passes, and the 118 find themselves back outside, walking in the slowly fading light as the sun begins to set. They’d all come out of World of Disney with lighter wallets and bags in varying sizes. Eddie had convinced Buck to limit himself to just the sweatshirt he had been carrying around and a secret item he purchased while Eddie was distracted looking at a display of Encanto mugs, plates, and pillows. He’d also insisted on splitting the cost of the Munchlings, since Buck tried to buy them all himself – “This is why your credit score is shit, man.” – so even Eddie ended up with a small bag of his own to carry.
The team wanders around the rest of Downtown Disney, occasionally popping into stores to peruse their offerings. Mostly, they chat about their week and window shop until the time for their dinner reservation approaches. Bobby, ever the responsible one, makes sure they head in the direction of the restaurant with plenty of time.
They’re seated at a nice, long table outside with Chimney, Bobby, and Ravi on one side and Hen, Eddie, and Buck on the other. Their waiter introduces himself as Anthony, brings them all glasses of water, and gives them time to examine the menu. After a few minutes, Buck leans over into Eddie’s space. “Are you getting a drink drink?” he asks in a stage whisper behind his menu. Eddie rolls his eyes.
“Yes, I’m getting a drink drink. Why?” he whispers back, indulging Buck’s antics.
“I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t the only one drinking tonight,” Buck winks as he leans back into his own space. Eddie immediately misses the warmth of his presence.
“So what are you getting?” Buck asks at a normal volume as he looks at his own cocktail menu.
Eddie hums at his menu. “I think I’m gonna go with the Vodka Blush.”
Buck turns toward Eddie, an odd look on his face. “Really?” Eddie nods. “Huh. I would’ve guessed you were gonna get the Smokey Desert Margarita…or maybe the Pulcinella Old Fashioned?”
Eddie shrugs. “Wanted to try something different,” he explains. “Plus, I’ve recently discovered that pomegranate juice is fuckin’ delicious.” After a beat with no response, Eddie asks, “What are you getting?”
Buck turns his attention back to his menu. “Well, I was thinking about getting a nice glass of wine, but I haven’t decided what I’m eating yet, so I’m not sure what would pair best…so I actually think I’m going to go with the Sicilian Sunshine Spritz. Something with Limoncello seems fitting for an Italian restaurant,” he replies with a satisfied smile.
Eddie’s lip quirks to the side, glancing over at Buck. “A sunshine spritz? For you? Seems perfect.”
Buck opens and closes his mouth in an attempt to respond, flustered. Luckily for him, Anthony comes back at that moment to take their drink orders.
Everyone orders an alcoholic beverage, except for Bobby, who opts for a raspberry Italian soda. They’re left to continue deciding what their meals will be with the promise that their waiter will return shortly with their drinks. Ravi wonders out loud if they’d judge him for ordering off the kid’s menu while having a beer, and Hen responds that they probably can tell that he’s not 12 or under.
“But what about my youthful glow?” Ravi pouts. The rest of the table chuckles while they continue to peruse their menus.
Eddie is torn between the ‘Nduja Mafaldine e Ricotta and the Snapper Piccata. On the one hand, the pasta sounds comforting and familiar. On the other hand, he’s been trying to be more adventurous and extend out of his comfort zone, so the snapper sounds interesting.
“Hey Buck,” he leans over to his side, now the one invading Buck’s personal space. “What are you getting?”
Buck glances up from his menu. “I’m still trying to figure it out. Why?”
Eddie sighs. “I’m torn and I was hoping whatever you said would help me decide.”
“Well I was thinking about getting the snapper, but you also don’t see ‘nduja very often, so I might go with that…one of those two, if that helps,” Buck replies.
Eddie’s eyes light up. “Hey, those are what I was looking at too! What if…”
Buck perks up and finishes Eddie’s sentence for him. “...we each get one and share?”
A warmth flows through Eddie as he nods. They always somehow work together. “Sounds perfect.”
A minute later, Anthony returns with their drinks and begins to take their orders. He’s just written down Ravi’s order when - “And for you, handsome?”
Eddie feels an uncomfortable, unfamiliar feeling settle in the pit of his chest. His palms sweat as he notices a slight blush creep up Buck’s cheeks. “Oh! Um, I’ll have the Snapper Picatta. Easy on the capers, right?” he clarifies, turning to Eddie.
Eddie places a firm hand on Buck’s shoulder, rubbing his thumb along his collarbone as he looks Buck in the eye and responds, “Yup, that’s right.” Buck blinks a few times before turning his attention back to the waiter, who jots down the order and, looking flustered, turns to Eddie next.
“And for you?”
Eddie glances up from where he had still had his eyes trained on Buck. “I’ll do the - wait Buck, how do I pronounce that again?” he murmurs, pointing at the name of the dish.
“En-doo-yah,” Buck replies.
Eddie gives his shoulder a squeeze. “Thanks. I’ll do the ‘Nduja Mafaldine e Ricotta.” He drops his hand from Buck’s shoulder, willfully ignoring the way Buck’s posture shifts ever so slightly, and passes his menu to the waiter.
Once all orders are placed and menus are cleared, the 118 fall into a comfortable, easy conversation.
Eventually, their dishes arrive. As everyone settles in to eat their meals, the conversation turns to planning for the following day.
“Ok, so what time do we want to meet up tomorrow?” Bobby asks the group as he takes a bite of his chicken parmigiana.
“Well, DCA opens at 8, so we should be at the gates by 7:30, so we should meet in the lobby no later than 7:15,” Buck answers, leaning over to scoop a piece of sausage off of Eddie’s plate. “Mm, that’s good.”
Hen groans. “Buck, we are literally in a hotel that is already inside the park, why do we have to meet up 45 minutes before it even opens?” She takes a bite of the pizza she’s sharing with Chimney.
“Wait –” Eddie interrupts, “– what’s DCA? I thought we were going to California Adventure tomorrow.” He twirls some linguine off of Buck’s plate, doing his best to avoid the capers.
Buck waves his fork around dismissively. “DCA is California Adventure – same thing. Don’t worry about it.” He takes a bite of the fish on his plate. “We need to meet that early so that we can get into the park as early as possible so we can do everything we need to do!”
“Weren’t you the one who said just the other day, and I quote, ‘California Adventure is barely even a one-day park’?” Ravi retorted around a mouthful of his lasagna bolognese.
Buck sends a glare across the table. “Well, yes, but that’s for me – I’ve been there a bunch.” He points his elbow in the direction of the man next to him. “Eddie’s never been there – he needs as much time as possible to do everything he wants to do.”
Eddie feels his ears grow warm. “No one needs to get up early just for me, seriously, I’m fine with whatever –” He’s interrupted by Chimney’s phone ringing, everyone turning their attention toward him.
“It’s Maddie,” Chimney explains before excusing himself from the table and answering it. As he walks away, Bobby turns back to the rest of the table.
“I know no one wants to have to wake up too early, but I also understand that we want to get the most out of our day. Can we compromise and meet in the lobby at 7:30? It will take us less than five minutes to enter the park from there, and we’ll still be there with plenty of time before the park opens,” he tries to negotiate.
“Fine,” Buck says with a sigh. He leans back over to Eddie’s plate and stabs some pasta and sausage onto his fork. “But you all had better be there on time,” he punctuates with an emphatic bite of the food off his fork.
Everyone continues eating their food in comfortable silence. After a few minutes, Chimney returns with his phone to his chest. He gestures toward Buck. “Maddie wants to talk to you.”
Buck perks up and takes the phone from Chimney, walking off and already chatting animatedly with his sister.
As soon as he’s gone, Hen leans into Eddie’s space. “So,” she says in a quiet voice, “how are things going with your little sunshine spritz over there?”
Eddie tries to school his face into the most innocent look he can muster. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Mhm,” Hen replies, clearly seeing through his half-hearted act. “You know, I know you’ve been trying to figure things out since Christopher left. I know you’re trying to find your joy or whatever…I just think you should know that you might not have to go far to find it. I mean, Buck’s put a lot of effort into planning this trip so it’d be special for you.”
Eddie can feel his cheeks burning. “You know he’d do the same for any of you,” he replies, shoving another bite of his pasta into his mouth.
Hen hums in contemplation. “I guess so. But he doesn’t look at any of us like we’ve hung the moon and the stars in the sky,” she retaliates.
Eddie continues deliberately staring at the dish in front of him as if it is the most interesting thing he’s ever seen, unsure of how to respond to that. Luckily, Chimney chooses that time to chime in.
“What are you two whispering about?” he asks around a mouthful of pizza.
“Oh nothing, just reassuring him that he’s going to have a good time even if he runs out of time to go on all of the rides,” Hen lies easily. Eddie nods in agreement, reaching out and taking a gulp of his drink in an attempt to quell the buzzing in his head.
Luckily, Chimney seems to be satisfied with the half-assed lie and launches into a story about the first time he ever rode the Matterhorn Bobsleds.
Eddie notices out of the corner of his eye that Buck is making his way back to their table, his conversation with Maddie over. Buck hands the phone back to Chimney on the way to his chair. Without thinking, Eddie reaches over and pulls Buck’s chair out for him. Buck falters a bit, stumbling over his toes before sitting down with a small smile and a mumbled, “Thanks,” scooting closer to the table and, maybe, slightly closer to Eddie than he was before.
“Good talk with Maddie?” Eddie asks as they return to their food.
Buck nods, swallowing the bite of fish in his mouth before responding. “Yeah, she was just checking in while she was already on the phone. Had just put Jee down - she wishes she could be here, of course, but she sends her love to everyone.”
Once they’ve all finished their meals and their plates are cleared, Anthony comes back around to ask if anyone saved room for dessert. There’s a grumble of “no’s” and shaking heads that cascades around the table, but Eddie notices Buck’s face drop a little at the responses around him. The waiter turns to leave and get the check for them when Eddie clears his throat.
“Um, actually?” Anthony turns back around to face the table, fixing Eddie with a decidedly neutral smile. “Do you have tiramisu?”
The waiter’s jaw twitches, attempting to keep his face devoid of emotion. “Yes, of course we do,” he replies.
“Could we get a slice to go?” Eddie turns to look at Buck, eyebrows raised and eyes questioning. Buck’s face lights up with a smile, which is answer enough for Eddie.
Anthony gives a curt nod. “Yes, I’ll be back with that and the check shortly.”
This is all Buck’s fault, really.
He’s the one who reminded everyone that there’s a pool at their hotel. He’s the one who suggested they all go for a quick swim before heading to bed. He’s the one who keeps distracting Eddie by, well, looking like that.
Eddie thought he’d be fine. He really thought he’d been keeping his emotions in check, not letting himself indulge in the feelings that had been bubbling up inside him around his best friend. Going swimming with the team – sans Bobby, who opted to turn in early for the night – should have just been a fun little end-of-the-night activity. But then Buck just had to take his shirt off. Of course he would, but still, he had just gotten so…big lately. As if that wasn’t bad enough, then he just had to get into the pool, where he dunked his head and emerged all…wet. With his stupid damp curls and water dripping down his stupid neck.
So yeah, it’s Buck’s fault that Eddie accidentally elbows a kid in the back – kinda hard – and gets reamed out by the kid’s mother for “not paying attention to his surroundings.”
Ravi, Buck, Chimney, and Hen are all turned away, trying to stifle their laughs as the woman finishes her lecture and takes her tearful kid out of the pool. Once the two are out of earshot, the group collapses into a fit of giggles.
Buck shoves Eddie’s arm, almost laughing himself to tears. “Man, she went OFF on you!”
Eddie is sure his face has never been a deeper shade of red – he’s mortified and his friends are laughing at him. “I had no idea he was even back there! He came out of nowhere – why couldn’t one of you warn me??”
“We didn’t see him, he was behind you!” Hen explains, giggling.
“Yeah man, maybe YOU should’ve been better at ‘paying attention to your surroundings’,” Chimney replies through his laughter, imitating the woman in an awful high-pitched voice.
“Dude, he was literally right there, can’t you tell when someone’s behind you?” Ravi teases.
Eddie rolls his eyes. “Well clearly I didn’t notice him, or else I would’ve moved out of his space.” He doesn’t mention that he had barely noticed anyone in that moment other than the curly-haired man with the large arms and the –
“Hey, we’re just messin’ around,” Buck, the aforementioned curly-haired man, says lightly, nudging Eddie before flicking water at his face.
Eddie pretends to be outraged by the water droplets now clinging to his face. “Oh, you asked for it Buckley –” he threatens before lunging at Buck in an attempt to dunk him underwater.
The five of them take turns splashing each other with water and attempting to dunk each other underwater for as long as they can, causing more of a ruckus than they probably should at a public pool at this hour of the night.
Once they settle down and get the giggles out of their systems, they all situate themselves along the side of the pool, leaning against the edge and facing the nearly-empty pool. Ravi takes a moment to check the time.
“Shoot, I promised Cap I wouldn’t be out too late. I should probably get going,” he says as he proceeds to hoist himself out of the water. He makes quick work of drying himself off and throwing his shirt back on. “See you in the morning!”
“7:30!” Buck shouts after him.
“Yeah yeah,” Ravi responds, waving his hand in Buck’s direction as he walks off. Buck rolls his eyes and turns back to the group.
“He’d better be there on time,” he grumbles.
“Oh he will be, he’s got Cap to make sure of it,” Hen assures him. Buck seems satisfied with that answer. The remaining members of the 118 continue to float in the water in comfortable silence for a few minutes, slowly kicking their feet and occasionally pushing off the wall just to swim right back.
Eventually, almost as if he can’t help himself, Buck breaks the silence.
“Hey Hen I don’t think I ever asked, have you and Karen taken Denny and Mara here?” he asks.
Hen hums. “Yeah, we’ve been here once with all four of us, and before that we’d come with Denny a few times. Usually we’ll just make a day trip out of it – one time we did stay for a few days, but we stayed at the Park Vue Inn across the street. We’ve never stayed at a place this nice.” She tosses a look in Buck’s direction. “But someone insisted we stay in the most expensive hotel on property for some reason.”
Buck, instead of looking embarrassed or ashamed, plasters an innocent look across his face. “I did no such thing! I merely suggested it.”
Chimney decides to chime in, “Suggested it? You were shoving it down our throats! Kept insisting that this was the best hotel and ‘oh, Eddie needs to stay at the best place so his first time is perfect.’”
Eddie chokes on his spit and leans forward to look past Chim and Hen at Buck, a soft look on his face. “Did you really insist we stay here for me?”
Buck’s cheeks turn pink, but before he can formulate a response, Hen rolls her eyes and speaks up.
“Okay, that’s enough of this nonsense for me, I’m heading to bed.” She begins wading over to the steps to get out of the pool, ignoring the sound of indignation Buck makes after her. Once she’s dried off and gathered her belongings, she leans over the three firefighters still left in the pool. “Good luck with them, Chim. And don’t you dare wake me up when you come in – I need my eight hours.” With that, she leaves the three men and their varying noises of protestation behind.
Eddie decides to swim a couple laps, releasing some of the nervous energy that has started to build up inside of him. When he returns to where Buck and Chimney are leaning against the edge of the pool, he finds them talking about one of their favorite subjects – Jee.
“ – think she could be a master baker,” he hears Buck conclude as he gets back within earshot.
“Well she says she's going to be the first princess of the United States, so you'll have to talk to her about that,” Chimney retorts. “Hey, Eddie,” he continues, noticing that he'd returned, “what's the craziest thing that Chris said he wanted to be when he was little?”
Eddie feels a pang in his chest at that question - yeah, Chris is no longer “little.” When did that happen? He clears his throat before answering. “At one point he wanted to be an astronaut cowboy. Not sure what he thought he was gonna lasso in space,” Eddie chuckles.
“I think he'd still make a cute astronaut cowboy,” Buck counters with a soft smile. “And of course he'd lasso aliens.”
“Naturally,” Chimney agrees.
Eddie cracks a smile before redirecting the topic of conversation back to Jee. “So Maddie's doing okay with Jee while you're here?”
“Yeah, seems things were going well when I talked to her earlier! Of course, we didn't tell Jee-Yun that I'm at Disneyland,” Chimney confesses. “She's just about old enough to come and actually enjoy herself, so we do want to take her soon! Just gotta figure out a time when Maddie and I both have off.”
“Hey, and if you two ever want a full day alone, Uncle Buck would be more than happy to take her – give her the inside scoop!” Buck chimes in happily. He looks pleased with himself as he adds, “I'm sure Uncle Eddie will also be itching to come back after this.”
Eddie lets out a short, self-depricating chuckle. “Yeah well, I'd better make sure I take Christopher first before I tag along with Jee and Uncle Buck – Chris would be pissed if he found out I took someone else's kid here before taking him.”
An awkward silence falls among the three men, no one quite sure what to say in response. Chimney takes the break in conversation as his cue to leave.
He clasps a reassuring hand on Eddie's shoulder. “Alright fellas, I'm gonna head to bed. Don't want to keep our dear Henrietta up. Make sure you two don't stay out too late - we've got a long day ahead of us!”
With that, Chimney hops out of the pool, wraps a towel around himself, gathers his belongings, and heads off to his room.
Buck and Eddie are left alone, the only two hotel guests remaining in the pool. Eddie, feeling restless, drifts a few feet away from the edge and begins treading water. Buck fixes him with an intense stare, still leaning against the wall of the pool, elbows up on the edge.
“You know he didn't mean it, right?”
The sudden sound against the white noise of the pool heater startles Eddie, and he has to make a conscious effort to stay afloat. “Who didn't mean what?” he responds after a beat.
“Chris,” Buck says simply. “Earlier, when he was giving you shit for coming here without him. He was just being a moody teenager, I promise.”
Eddie makes his way back to the wall next to Buck, the pair readjusting until they’re both facing out toward the empty pool, shoulders pressed together. “How do you know that?” he asks quietly.
Buck glances over to him. “He told me.”
“Really?” Eddie questions with a hint of hope in his voice. As much as he wishes Chris would be more open to talking with him, he understands that he’s a teenager and needs his space. At the same time, he’s so grateful that Chris feels comfortable enough to confide in Buck.
“Yeah, when we were out on the balcony. I think he knows you’ve been hurting, and he does want you to be happy. He just isn’t sure how to talk to you sometimes. I think that’s pretty typical for a teenager, though,” Buck concludes with a shrug.
Eddie rubs a hand across his face, grimacing when he gets some chlorine in his eyes. He sighs. “I just wish he’d talk to me.” He turns his head to Buck when he feels the other man’s eyes on him. “I’m really happy he’s talking to you, though,” he says softly.
Buck maintains eye contact with Eddie as he speaks. “He’s coming around, Eddie, I can feel it.”
Eddie nods, unable to formulate a coherent response. He knows better than to hope, but…he trusts Buck. He’s always trusted Buck, so if he thinks Chris is coming around, maybe he’s right. Eddie examines his face and sees nothing but earnest sincerity staring back at him.
Buck turns to face Eddie fully and reaches out his hand, placing it on his shoulder as Eddie has done so many times to him. His thumb rubs gently at the dip in Eddie’s collarbone, and Eddie represses a shiver. “It’s all going to work out eventually, I promise.”
Eddie wants to believe him, he really does. He reaches up to place his hand on top of Buck’s, rubbing his own thumb over the other man’s hand. They’re so close that Eddie can practically count the individual lashes on each of Buck’s eyes. He tracks a water droplet as it makes its way from a curl on Buck’s head down his cheek, past his lips, and off his chin. Eddie bites his own lip as his eyes flicker back up into Buck’s eyes, then down to his lips. He’s so tempted to lean forward a few more inches, close the space between them, and press their lips together. Instead, he drops his hand back into the pool with a small splash, effectively breaking the tension between them.
Eddie chuckles to himself. “I think we should probably get out, I’m turning all pruney.”
Buck lowers his hand to Eddie’s bicep, giving it a light, reassuring squeeze before dropping it completely. “I’d say you look more like a raisin,” he teases. “But you’re right, I’m sure it’s just about closing time anyway. Besides, we need to make sure we get our beauty sleep.”
Eddie lets out a full laugh. “Speak for yourself!” he responds, flicking water at Buck.
The taller man rolls his eyes playfully and begins to hoist himself out of the pool, arms flexing. At the same time, Eddie begins to lift himself up on the wet edge of the pool, glances over at Buck’s arms, and promptly slips backward into the pool with a splash.
Buck, now fully out of the pool, turns back to see a spluttering Eddie emerge from under the water. “Man, what happened??”
Eddie blows water out of his nose and takes a gasping breath. “I dunno, I slipped,” he replies, taking another deep breath.
Buck reaches his hand out with a chuckle. “And they call me clumsy.” He grasps Eddie’s hand in his and helps him out of the pool. Eddie simply shakes his wet hair at him in response.
They lay down on their lounge chairs to dry off, relishing in the few minutes they have left before the pool is closed for the evening. Eddie lets the sounds of Buck excitedly telling him all of the things he’s most looking forward to doing the following day wash over him, giving the occasional noise of approval. He loves how Buck can just ramble on about the things he’s passionate about.
Buck sighs. “But ya know,” he concludes, “the day after tomorrow, in Disneyland – that’s where the real magic is.”
Eddie gives him a genuine smile. “I’m looking forward to all of it,” he says honestly. The smile he gets in return is priceless.
Buck and Eddie make their way back to their room, a comfortable silence falling between them the whole way.
Once in the room, Eddie pulls the tiramisu out of the mini-fridge and frowns. Buck looks over from where he’s just kicked off his sandals. “What’s up?” he questions.
“We don’t have forks,” Eddie answers. “Or, like, any utensils.” He sighs. “I just wanted a sweet treat before bed. And I know you were looking forward to it.”
Buck scans the room until his eyes land on the coffee maker. He rifles through the various items in the caddy next to it.
“You’re going to have coffee in the morning, right?” he asks Eddie.
“Couldn’t survive without it,” Eddie responds.
Buck chuckles. “Fair enough. Do you think you’ll take it with you down to the lobby or just drink it here?”
“I’m sure I’ll just finish it here before we head down. Why?”
Buck holds up two white plastic coffee lids with a smirk. “I think I’ve found our utensils.”
Eddie rolls his eyes with a smile. “That’s so ridiculous,” he shrugs, “but I guess they’ll have to do.”
Buck and Eddie both scoop up a bite of the tiramisu and “cheers” with their coffee lids. Eddie lets a soft moan slip out as he tries the dessert.
“Man, this is so good. Doesn’t hold a candle to yours, but it’s still a damn good tiramisu,” Eddie says as he goes in for another bite.
Buck ducks his head and uses his hand not currently holding a tiramisu-filled coffee lid to fidget with the strings on his swim trunks. “Eddie, this is literally a professionally-made dessert from a pretty nice restaurant. No need to flatter me.” He swallows his own bite. “This is really good.”
Eddie hums around a mouthful of cake. “Yeah, this is good. Yours is great.” When the only response he receives is Buck scooping more tiramisu onto his coffee lid, he continues, “I’m serious, Buck. I know it took you a couple tries to get everything right, but that last one you made? Man, if I could marry a dessert, that’d be it.” Eddie grins at the way Buck’s cheeks turn pink.
Buck chuckles. “You’re ridiculous…but thank you,” he says as he lifts his head to make eye contact with Eddie, licking the remnants of the dessert off his coffee lid before diving in for a final bite.
They seamlessly get ready for bed, taking turns using their shared bathroom and changing into their pajamas. Buck triple-checks that his alarms are set for the correct time and sets a backup alarm for good measure.
“Should I also ask for a wake-up call?” Buck asks Eddie, chewing on his lower lip.
“Buck, I think we’ll be fine. You’ve got your alarms, and listen - I’ll even set one on my phone too, okay? If you worry too much you won’t be able to sleep.” Eddie pulls back his covers and slides into his bed.
Buck sighs as he plugs his phone into the charger and gets into his own bed. “I know, you’re right. I guess I just want to make sure everything goes well. I don’t want to oversleep and ruin your first time at the parks.”
Eddie feels a fluttering in his chest. He turns onto his side, facing Buck. “Hey, look at me.” Buck rolls over to face Eddie, eyes wide. “There is no way you could ruin anything, okay? I’m here, and I’m with you. And with Ravi, and Chimney, and Hen, and Bobby. Everything’s going to be fine, and I’m sure I’ll have a great time. Now, I do think we’ll have an even better time if we get some good sleep, so let’s try to do that, okay?” His eyes search Buck’s face as he speaks, watching some of the worry shown in the furrow of his brow and the pursing of his lips melt away.
Buck gives a soft smile. “Yeah, okay, that makes me feel better. Thanks.” He yawns into his next sentence - “Okay, yeah, I guess we should get some sleep. G’night Eds.” Buck’s eyes are already fluttering closed as he snuggles into his pillow.
“Goodnight, Buck,” Eddie responds softly, shifting to make himself comfortable in his bed. And if he falls asleep watching the steady rise and fall of Buck’s chest as he sleeps, well, that’s his business.