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Buck and Eddie were sitting at the table, the remnants of their dinner littering the table. They hadn’t had the energy yet to get up and start the dishes. Christopher had gone to his room to get some homework done before they watch a movie while Buck and Eddie got the dishes done. So far, though, no luck.
Buck had been over more and more since Eddie’s breakup with Ana— it finally felt like things were going back to normal. To how it was before they both got girlfriends, before Eddie was shot, before it felt like there was this distance between the two of them that neither liked but neither knew how to fix.
Eddie’s breakup with Ana hadn’t been exactly messy, but it wasn’t as amenable as Buck and Taylor’s— those two had known they weren’t meant to last. Buck wanted a family, he wanted to settle down. Taylor was riding the high of her career— as she should, she had worked extremely hard to get to where she was and Buck was happy for her. However, their needs didn’t match up and it had started to become a problem.
But things were finally getting back to normal for the Buckley-Diaz family— and that’s what they were, a family.
The quiet, comfortable silence was broken by Christopher coming back into the kitchen, a confused frown on his face and what looked to be a slim stack of homework in his hands.
“Hey, dad? Can you help me with my science homework?” Christopher asked softly, coming up beside Buck and leaning into his side. Buck wrapped an arm around Christopher’s was it, in part to keep him steady but mostly because the quiet, casual affection from the boy he privately considered to be his and Eddie’s warmed his heart in a way nothing else did. He loved that Christopher was comfortable with him, that he sought out affection from Buck, it made Buck feel wanted and worthy like nothing ever had before.
Eddie winced. “I’ll try, buddy, but you know science isn’t my forte,” Eddie replied, looking to Buck for help. Social studies and history Eddie could do but for science and english, Eddie always looked to Buck for help. Neither of them, however, could do math.
Christopher giggled. “I know, daddy. That’s why I asked dad!” He said, leaning more heavily against Buck and putting the papers he was holding down in front of him.
There was a sudden stillness in the room as Christopher’s words washed over Buck and Eddie, their meaning and implications sinking in. There was a soft, quiet awe in Buck’s eyes as he looked at Christopher, but then his eyes darted back to Eddie, waiting for Eddie to get upset or panic or somehow show that Christopher’s words were unwanted.
Eddie himself waited for that telltale sign of panic, the one that started in his belly and made its way up his chest, curling around his heart and squeezing until he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think— but it never came. There was no panic. Just a soft, loving warmth as he realized something. It was Buck. It had always been Buck. Christopher obviously had caught on a lot faster than Eddie did.
Buck was staring at Eddie, desperately waiting for his reply. He had heard about what caused the panic attack in the suit shop and Buck couldn’t imagine if a stranger referring to Ana as Christopher’s mother caused such a panic, how would Christopher himself referring to Buck as his other dad make Eddie feel?
But Eddie just smiled, a slow soft smile that lit up his entire face and oh, Buck could see the love shining in Eddie’s eyes. “You’re right, it’s definitely dad who knows science. Why don’t you two work on it and I’ll get the dishes done? Then we can watch our movie,” Eddie said, holding Buck’s gaze so Buck knew it was okay. It was more than okay. It felt right.
Christopher was either oblivious or wisely choosing to ignore the charged air around him. There was tension but it was more like anticipation, like Eddie and Buck knew that this was going to be a game changing moment for them.
“Okay, so…,” Christopher began, pulling Buck’s attention away from Eddie as he started explaining his assignment and what it was that was confusing him. Eddie started grabbing the dishes off the table, carrying them to the kitchen.
As he began washing the dishes, the sink filling with hot soapy water, Eddie thought back to just a few weeks ago when he was in the same kitchen, about to break up with Ana. In such a short period of time since their breakup, Eddie felt like things had changed for him. Shifted. Settled. For the first time since before Shannon had come back into his life, Eddie felt like he knew what he was doing, what he wanted.
Eddie couldn’t stop thinking about Buck. To be honest, Buck hadn’t been all that far from his mind since the moment they met, always lingering in there somewhere. Buck was everything to him and Christopher. Contrary to what people might think, Eddie wasn’t in the habit of lying to himself. He knew that he had feelings for Buck, could fully admit that now. And now that they were both single, maybe something could finally happen. He was pretty confident that Buck at least felt something for him.
Eddie was pulled from his thoughts when he went to grab another dish to wash only to find that he’d already finished all the dishes. Letting out a short breath, Eddie grabbed a towel to wipe his hands and start drying the dishes. He listened but he couldn’t hear the sounds of Buck and Christopher anymore— of Buck explaining scientific processes effortlessly, somehow understanding words that didn’t even sound like English to Eddie.
The door to the kitchen inched open from where Eddie had left it ajar, wanting his boys to be able to do Christopher’s homework without the added sound of him doing the dishes getting in the way. Eddie felt more than heard Buck come up behind him.
“Hey,” Buck said softly, coming to stand beside Eddie, leaning against the counter and looking at Eddie with those soft, baby blues. Eddie set the dish towel down, deciding to leave the rest of the dishes to air dry. Maybe he’d come back and put them away after the movie.
“Hey,” Eddie replied, just as soft. He waited to see what Buck had to say. Eddie knew what he wanted to say, but he wanted to know if he and Buck were on the same page. Please, god, let them be on the same page.
“So, I, uh— we should probably talk about what Chris said, right?” Buck half asked, half stated, rubbing the back of his neck in an anxious gesture. He was clearly nervous and although he did a fairly good job at hiding it, always did, if you didn’t know him then you would never suspect it. But Eddie knew Buck, could read him. Could always read him.
“Yeah, we probably should—,” Eddie started to say before Buck cut him off with what was clearly a hastily rehearsed speech.
“Okay, so, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cross any lines or boundaries and I know that you just broke up with Ana. I know you don’t want a ready made family and—“
Buck was cut off as Eddie came up close to him, cupping his shoulder and neck in the exact same way he did after the tsunami. Buck held his breath, waiting to see what Eddie would say. He wanted this to be it, for this to be the moment things changed between them— the moment Buck had quite honestly been waiting for for a very long time.
“Buck, listen to me,” Eddie said, holding his gaze as he looked at Buck earnestly. “We’re not a ready made family. We made this family. We did that. You, me, and Christopher are a family and I didn’t realize that before but I realize it now,” Eddie whispered, barely finishing his words before Buck’s lips were on his.
Eddie sighed into Buck’s mouth, the feeling of home and love enveloping him, making him feel warm from the inside out. Eddie’s hand was still cupping Buck’s shoulder so he moved it up, sliding his hand up Buck’s neck and cupping his cheek. Buck’s hands fell to Eddie’s waist, pulling him close, tight and secure against his body.
Buck pulled away first, although he didn’t go very far— resting his forehead against Eddie’s, the two of them keeping their eyes closed, hoping to savour the moment for just a little bit longer.
“Are you sure?” Buck breathed into the space between them. He needed to know. He needed to be sure. He couldn’t take it if Eddie wasn’t sure.
“Yes,” Eddie replied, not even hesitating for a second. “Yes, I’m sure. I’m sure, Buck,” The way he repeated it, pressed the words into Buck’s mouth as he brought him in for another kiss made Buck melt against him. He could feel it, all the way down to his bones— he believed Eddie.
They lost themselves in each other, in the feelings of relief, love, and anticipation of what was next. Where did they go from here? Wherever it was, it would be together.
“Hey, are you guys done kissing? Can we watch the movie now?” Christopher asked cheekily, making Buck and Eddie jump apart. They hadn’t even heard him enter the kitchen, too lost in each other. Chris watched them in amusement as their faces flushed and they tried to put space between the two of them— as if Christopher hadn’t just caught them kissing.
“Y-yeah, mijo, we can watch the movie now,” Eddie said, stumbling over his words slightly as he tried to get the giddy feeling in his chest under control. He couldn’t stop smiling. A couple of kisses from Buck had been more exciting— had done more to set his heart on fire— than his entire relationship with Ana. Eddie looked back to Buck, who was already looking at him, the same excitement mirrored in his eyes.
“Yeah, buddy, it’s movie time,” Buck said, leaning in to press a soft kiss to Eddie’s cheek— to remind him that this wasn’t over, that it wouldn’t be forgotten and, quite honestly, to show him the Buck had no problem being affectionate with him in front of Christopher, something he knew Eddie and Ana had struggled with.
“I get to choose!” Christopher cheered, grasping Buck’s hand and tugging him towards the couch. Buck laughed as he let himself be steered exactly where Christopher wanted him. Chris nudged Buck to one side of the couch— as if Buck wouldn’t have already sat there, it was his spot. The spot he sat in whenever it was Buckley-Diaz movie night.
Eddie hovered in the doorway as he watched his boys get settled on the couch, Christopher snuggling up to Buck as he made himself comfortable in the middle— his preferred spot for Buckley-Diaz movie nights.
“Daddy, come on, the movie is starting,” Christopher said, waving Eddie over.
Eddie sat down on Christopher’s other side, bringing his arm up and around, resting it on the back of the couch, and curling his hand at the nape of Buck’s neck. The touch was innocent, grounding, and just because he could.
Buck looked over at Eddie and they shared a smile over Christopher’s head.
oOoOoOoOo
As the credits to the movie Chris had picked out rolled, Eddie got up with a stretch. He looked down at the adorable sight of Buck and Chris, both sound asleep and curled into each other. Eddie had noticed that Christopher had fallen asleep about three-fourths of the way through the movie but he hadn’t realized Buck was also asleep.
Before he woken them up, he decided to grab his phone and snap a quick picture. It was too cute a sight to pass up. Eddie set the picture as his wallpaper and tucked the phone back into his pocket.
He shook Buck awake first, taking care not to startle him too much.
Buck’s eyes fluttered open and he yawned as he stretched his neck out. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Buck whispered, giving Eddie an apologetic look, to which Eddie just rolled his eyes with a smile.
“Let’s get him to bed,” Eddie whispered, nodding towards Christopher’s peaceful sleeping form. As was tradition for Buckley-Diaz movie nights, Christopher had gotten ready for bed before they started the movie— knowing the likelihood of him falling asleep during the movie was pretty high. So Eddie gently scooped his boy up and brought him to his room, Buck following behind him.
Buck leaned against the doorframe as Eddie got Christopher settled into bed, tucking him in and pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Goodnight, buddy.”
“Goodnight daddy, goodnight dad,” Christopher mumbled sleepily, pressing his face into the pillow and almost immediately, he was like a light.
Quietly Eddie and Buck slipped out of Christopher’s room, flicking the light off as they went. Eddie closed the door almost all the way, leaving it slightly ajar the way Christopher preferred.
Then it was just the two of them and suddenly Buck was nervous— nervous in a way he hadn’t been these past few hours. “I…I should probably get going,” Buck muttered, anxiety making doubt crawl beneath his skin.
“No,” Eddie breathed, making Buck look at him in surprise. “Stay. Stay here— tonight, tomorrow, forever. Just, stay. Please.”
The earnest way Eddie was looking at him— almost pleading with him— made the sudden doubt and anxiety fade away. Buck nodded, relief making whatever tension that had been in his shoulders melt away.
Eddie’s answering smile was blinding and as Eddie tugged him towards his bedroom, Buck felt like everything was finally working out.